Will There Be a New Hope or a New Right in Israel's 4th Election in 2 Years?

Israel is heading for its fourth election in two years after the Knesset failed to pass a budget yesterday.

After failing to form coalition governments following elections in April 2019 and September 2019, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue & White leader Benny Gantz formed a power sharing agreement after the March 2020 elections. Under the power sharing agreement, Netanyahu was to relinquish the Prime Ministership to Gantz in October 2021. Bibi, who has been Prime Minister since March 2009, is evidently not ready to leave Beit Agihon just yet. Israelis will go to the polls on March 23, 2021 - three months from today.

Netanyahu is Israel's longest serving Prime Minister. Alas all things must come to an end. Nearly two-thirds of Israelis are dissatisfied with Bibi's response to COVID-19. Then, of course, there is the dark shadow of bribery and fraud charges which Netanyahu was to stand trial for in the spring until the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those proceedings although Bibi has been unsuccessful in having the charges against him dismissed.

Under the circumstances, perhaps the time for change has come. So what about Gantz? His popularity and the ranks of the Blue and White coalition have diminished since he saw fit to join a national unity government with Netanyahu after vowing not to do so. Mind you Israel is more of a right of center country these days than a centrist one. So Israeli voters have an opportunity to turn to two center-right leaders who don't have Bibi's baggage - Gideon Sa'ar and Naftali Bennett.

Sa'ar is a former Likud lawmaker who unsuccessfully challenged Netanyahu for the party leadership last year. He has recently formed a new political party called New Hope and has had several Likud MKs defect to join him. New Right leader Naftali Bennett, also once a part of Bibi's orbit, is also making a bid to be Israel's next Prime Minister. Before entering politics, Bennett had both a distinguished military and business career. It will be interesting to see if after the election Sa'ar, Bennett and other opposition figures will join forces to deny Netanyahu an unprecedented sixth term as Israel's Prime Minister.

As Rabbi Hillel put it, "If not now, when?"