Israel election: Final results announced for election 2022

"The first and foremost thing that Itamar Ben-Gvir will do when he joins the government is to tackle the rise of terror against Jews and make it clear that there cannot be any no-go-zones in Israel,” a source close to extreme right-wing Otzma Yehudit chairman MK Itamar Ben-Gvir told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. 

So what exactly does the most colorful and controversial senior Israeli politician plan to do if he and his party actually join a Benjamin Netanyahu-led coalition?

1. Crack down on Arab crime, terrorism and deport Ayman Odeh

As the Otzma Yehudit source said, Ben-Gvir is determined to make dramatic changes regarding all of Israel’s security agencies. "[We should] deport in ships and planes those who harm IDF soldiers,” Ben Gvir said in an interview to N12 recently. He added that the leader of the Hadash party and Joint List alliance MK Ayman Odeh, “acts against this country," and therefore should be deported. 

Yet Ben-Gvir isn’t just planning on tackling terror against Jews. He recently launched a campaign geared toward Arab communities. "The time has come, the time for Ben-Gvir to stop the crime," the poster reads in Arabic. His party members explained that they weren’t going to physically distribute these flyers but will promote them online. They added that it is “certainly an attempt by Ben-Gvir to speak to the Arab public directly, instead of through their politicians.”

Itamar Ben-Gvir gestures following the announcement of exit polls in Israel's general election, at his party headquarters in Jerusalem November 1, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/CORINNA KERN)

“You also deserve that your children will not be killed in wars and that there will be no violence in the [Arab] neighborhoods,'' he told N12’s Mohammad Magadli in an interview. “I have no problem with Arabs. I have a problem with terrorists. I have a problem with those who raise their hands and throw stones and molotov cocktails [at us] because we are Jews," Ben-Gvir said.

In the same interview, he added that in his perspective, “an Arab citizen can be a minister; can be a judge - but he must be loyal to this country. I cannot allow those who are not loyal to the country in the coalition [that we will be part of].” He has also been trying to be more mature and less provocative in recent years, something that isn’t clear whether it’s a real change or rather a strategic position that he has decided upon. “I was convicted twenty years ago for [creating] a sticker that says ‘Expel the Arabs,’” he told Magadli. “Today I am not in favor of expelling Arabs,” he said. “When I tell MK Mansour Abbas to condemn throwing stones at IDF soldiers - he supports terrorism."

2. Reinforce conservative religion-and-state views, crack down on Reform Jews

Ben-Gvir and his party members will try to affect issues regarding religion-and-state in a conservative perspective. "The Reform [Jews] brought enormous destruction on American Jewry, the assimilation is a terrible blow,” Yitzhak Wasserlauf, the second Otzma Yehudit member said in an interview to Makor Rishon weekly newspaper. Wasserlauf added that Reform Jews “make a mockery of religion. [They] celebrate bar mitzvahs for dogs and they have weddings with a rabbi and a priest simultaneously. The result is losing a large percentage of the Jews in the United States every year. Here in Israel, there are almost no Reform communities, they just make noise as if they have [widespread Israeli] support."

“Reform Judaism isn’t a stream in Judaism. There is one Judaism. I am completely at peace with a person who considers himself a Reform Jew. He is my brother. I will fight for him, but that doesn’t mean that I agree with him.”

Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu

The third member of Otzma Yehudit in the Religious Zionist Party (RZP) Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, son of Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, told the Post a few weeks ago that “Reform Judaism isn’t a stream in Judaism. There is one Judaism. I am completely at peace with a person who considers himself a Reform Jew. He is my brother. I will fight for him, but that doesn’t mean that I agree with him.” Asked if he will meet with Reform rabbis as an MK, Eliyahu answered, “Depends on the context. The Reform movement is very problematic, to say the least.” He said he would meet with Reform Jews or possibly rabbis, but not the movement's leadership.

3. Crack down on illegal international citizens living in Israel

One of Ben-Gvir’s most popular topics which he’s been promoting for years is having Israeli authorities become more strict on illegal international citizens who live in Israel without any permit or visa. One of the famous tricks that Ben-Gvir pulled before entering politics was inviting many African asylum seekers to go swimming at the Gordon pool in Tel Aviv - a place that is considered high-end and exclusive. He paid for these illegal workers to enter the pool and made sure that a TVcrew would film the prank, while Tel Avivian were mad at his creative step that was intended to provoke and prove his conservative point. We can expect that he will try to change certain laws regarding Illegal residents in Israel.

Walla contributed to this report.

On July 21, the Knesset approved the Economic Arrangements Bill in its first reading. The bill, which incorporates some material statutory amendments that adversely affect Israeli beneficiaries of foreign settler trusts, is set to take effect from January 1, 2014.

Israel might earn a few points with the international community, but its overall credibility will be scarred. The cancellation of certain benefits coupled, in particular, with the introduction of reporting obligations as well as the taxation of non-resident settlor trusts, including in some instances, on new immigrants and veteran returning residents as of 2014, could cause critical erosion to the confidence of Diaspora Jewry and their professional advisors in the Israeli fiscal system.

The current legal position has been that where a nonresident has vested assets and funds in a trust in favor of an Israeli resident, then as long as the latter has no control over the management of the trust fund, the trust (including distributions) is exempt from tax and reporting in Israel.

The Israel Tax Authority claims that this tax concession has been abused in certain cases where, by example, Israelis have channeled undeclared capital through the medium of non-residents through trusts in favor of themselves, thereby becoming entitled to an absolute tax and reporting exemption on such funds and the income thereon.

We expect the legislative changes to affect to the tax treatment of foreign settlor Israeli beneficiary trusts to be as follows: Distributions from an FSIBT to Israeli beneficiaries will no longer be exempt from tax and reporting in Israel (including foreign settlors who are deemed new immigrants). Tax will either be applied to distributions at a rate of 30% or to all annual trust income allocated to Israeli beneficiaries at a rate of 25% (at the election of the trustees). Israeli beneficiaries will also be required to report their trust income.

To be classified as an FSIBT, the settlor must be alive and all beneficiaries must be first degree relatives of the settlor (spouse, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild). If the settlor is deceased (as well as the settlor’s spouse) or at least one of the beneficiaries is not a close relative, the trust will be classified as an Israeli resident trust and will be taxed on worldwide income.

A foreign settlor trust will only be free of tax and reporting in Israel if all beneficiaries are foreign residents and/or new immigrants benefiting from a 10-year tax holiday.

The above constitutes a drastic variation to the current law.

I am of the view that the new legislation has evolved as a result of the abuse of the existing law by a few cases of aggressive tax planning. The new legislation will seriously deplete the confidence of multinational Jewish families and their professional advisors in the Israeli tax system.

The fundamental change in the original legislation embodied Amendment 147 of the Israel Income Tax Ordinance, which imposes taxation in accordance with the residence of the settlor and not that of the beneficiaries, as now envisaged by the Arrangements Law, is a full reversal of the original intention of the legislator. The latter model was initially concerned at addressing the taxation of trusts rather than dealing with loopholes pertaining to undeclared capital.

The desire of the Israel Tax Authority to expose trusts in order to verify that tax is being paid as required has brought about absurd situations such as the taxation of awards from non-resident settlor trusts, when in fact the beneficiaries could have received the same awards as an outright gift, fully tax-free.

Moreover, the new legislation also creates serious discrimination between a trust in which the settlor is a new immigrant or veteran returning resident and the beneficiaries are Israeli residents, where awards are now liable for tax even during the 10-year tax holiday period, and trusts where the beneficiary is a new immigrant/veteran returning resident, where the awards are still tax-exempt.

I agree with the need to combat undeclared capital, it being clear to anybody who practices in this sector that the current domestic and international trend is for complete tax compliance at all levels. Thus, for example, what was unthinkable until quite recently is now becoming a norm, namely that many banks in Switzerland and elsewhere will not agree to open a new account in the absence of evidence that the beneficial owner of the account is fully tax-compliant in his country of residence or domicile.

Indeed, the overall position of the tax authority undoubtedly merits positive acceptance. But the authority has acted with shortsightedness and the subject legislation and the course pursued by the tax authority should not have been adopted without more in-depth consideration and debate in appropriate committees.

Undeclared capital is a malaise that must be addressed but legislation should be tailor-made to address the various, specific situations of non-reporting, rather than jumbling everyone into one arena.

Attorney Shira Shine specializes in international tax planning and the formation and management of trusts.

"Good morning Israel," an ecstatic MK Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted the morning after the Religious Zionist Party (RZP), in which he is the second top politician, soared to an unprecedented 14 seats in Tuesday's election.

"The time has come for a full-fledged right-wing government. The time has come to be the masters of the house in our own country," Ben-Gvir wrote.

"The time has come for a full-fledged right-wing government. The time has come to be the masters of the house in our own country."

Itamar Ben-Gvir

It was a fantasy turned into reality moment for a long-time anti-establishment activist turned attorney, who is now likely to be on his way to be a minister in the next government. 

The dawning of Israel's new political reality

Israel woke up to a new political universe on Wednesday, in which its rainbow government of right, center and left-wing parties, will now likely be replaced with one of the most right-wing governments in Israel's history.

MK Itamar Ben-Gvir (Religious Zionist Party) tours Mahaneh Yehuda market in the run-up to Israel’s elections. (credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

On the surface of it, Ben-Gvir's tweet isn't a prophecy, it's simply a statement of the new political reality in Israel.

Given the election results a right-wing coalition is so obvious, one could imagine for a moment that the political paralysis that has gripped the country since the end of 2018, plunging it into an unprecedented sequence of five elections cycles, has now ended.

Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, now likely to be given the first chance to form a government, should be able to come to coalition agreements with the (RZP) and the two ultra-religious parties Shas and United Torah Judaism for a 65-seat government.

It's a move that could return Netanyahu to the Prime Minister's Office, following the electoral loss that ousted him in 2021.

More than Ben-Gvir's moment, this should be Netanyahu's moment. 

Netanyahu, who was in office from 1996-1999 and again from 2009-2021, prides himself on being the undisputed leader of the Israeli Right.

A fluent English speaker, who studied at both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he has walked a tight-rope balance between successful diplomatic discourse with the international community, while simultaneously holding onto his right-wing base. Looking back at his track record one can discern four relevant patterns to the way he operates. 

In the first pattern, Netanyahu often uses checks and balances, both on the international stage and in coalition building, in which he is willing to suffer diplomatic or political losses in other victories. 

One need look no further than the agreement he made in 2020 to suspend the application of sovereignty to West Bank settlements in exchange for the Abraham Accords in which Israel normalized ties with four Arab countries.

Under the second pattern, Netanyahu is more likely to move the situation forward in small discernible steps, rather than dramatic upheavals. 

Third, he must stand in the center of the stage with full political freedom to act rather than suffer under constrictions from his coalition partners. It is often when they try to overly dictate government policy that he seeks either to replace them with more pliable partners or to collapse the government altogether. 

Fourth, Netanyahu often buys wiggle room to take unpopular steps, by blaming another politician for gumming up the works. 

For Netanyahu, Shas and UTJ are dream coalition partners, particularly given that combined they received a hefty 19 of the 61 needed seats to form a government. Their demands are often domestic and do not have severe consequences for Netanyahu.

Religious Zionist Party is Netanyahu's unwieldy diplomatic nightmare

The RZP was a helpful party for Netanyahu to campaign with on shared values of a greater land of Israel, Jewish sovereignty and opposition to Palestinian statehood. In reality, they present him with an unwieldy diplomatic nightmare.

The party calls for the full application of sovereignty over West Bank settlements or at the very least in the settlement blocs. 

Failing that it wants to move forward on de facto sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, including disbanding the IDF's civil administration and allowing Israeli miniseries to govern Israeli civilian life in the West Bank. 

The RZP wants to see the authorization of 70 West Bank outposts, which it calls "young communities," either as new settlements or as neighborhoods of existing ones. It opposes Palestinian development in Area C of the West Bank and wants the IDF to increase its demolitions of illegal Palestinian construction.

Then there is the issue of its support for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. These are only some of their issues, which also include harsher responses to Palestinian violence in the West Bank and death sentences 

It's likely to want to see some of these demands in its coalition agreement with Likud, but action on any of them would likely put Netanyahu on a collision course with US President Joe Biden who is opposed to all such actions, to say nothing of European Union opposition.

That is on top of the already existing objections to Ben-Gvir, whose victory speech was interrupted by calls of "death to terrorists," a slogan that critics worry was a toned-down version of "death to Arabs."

Unlike Netanyahu who excels at bending without folding, the RZP is likely to take die-hard stands on its issue, particularly given its large size, thereby extending and complicating the negotiations process.

It's likely that to circumvent RZP die-hard stands, Netanyahu could turn to the National Resilience Party head Benny Gantz, who at 12 seats could be an alternative from a policy perspective. It's not an easy replacement, given that Gantz has repeatedly stated that he Is opposed to joining a Netanyahu coalition and their pasts attempt to sit together did not even last a year. 

Still, despite their enmity, Netanyahu has more in common with Gantz ideologically than with the RZP. 

When he was first elected in 2009, Netanyahu represented the hard right, but over time he has become one of the most moderate members of the nationalistic camp that he leads, even within his own party.

In a Gantz union, Netanyahu can continue to protest that he is a die-hard right-winger held back by the National Resilience Party. In a coalition with RZP, Netanyahu risks suddenly standing out as a centrist.

Smotrich told Channel 12 on Wednesday night, that he thought coalition talks could be quickly wrapped up.

The next weeks, however,  are likely to represent a game of protected political chicken between Netanyahu and RZP head Smotrich, in which the right-wing dream coalition could fall apart, as the two parties try to bring their differences.

Netanyahu of course could get over the first political crisis in the name putting a government in place, by paying lip service to a coalition agreement with the RZP he can never fulfill in the next two years.

For that to work the RZP, will in the name of being in the government, likely have to agree, not to walk when it turns out those demands are not met.

At the end of the day, it has been divisions in the right-wing camp, not the strength of the Left, that have prevented a full right-wing government. The right-wing nationalistic camp is often united in values but divided on how to execute them.

Unless the RZP reduces its maximalist demand, this right-wing dream coalition is likely to be brief and fleeting, if indeed it ever gets off the ground.

Former Mossad and IDF officials weighed in on Wednesday about concerns in some quarters about Religious Zionist Party leaders Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir receiving top defense-related ministries and receiving classified intelligence.

In late 2016 after Donald Trump was on his way to becoming the next US president, CIA officials expressed concern to former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo about giving him full access to intelligence after allegations about his having connections to Russia and mishandling sensitive information.

These same concerns seem to be playing out now among some with the possibility of a future defense minister Smotrich and a future public security minister Ben-Gvir, or at least with one or more of them sitting in on classified security cabinet discussions.

Both officials have loudly criticized the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the IDF in the past for cracking down on Jewish settler violence against the Palestinians, while Ben-Gvir was viewed as so extreme as a youth that the IDF refused to let him serve.

Head of the Otzma Yehudit Party MK Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to supporters as the results of the Israeli elections are announced, at the party's campaign headquarters in Jerusalem, November 1, 2022. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Until recent years, Ben-Gvir had a picture of Jewish terrorist Baruch Goldstein on his wall, he was almost criminally probed for threatening an Israeli-Arab parking attendant with a gun and has had numerous run-ins with the police at disorderly protests.

There have been a few right-wing IDF officers in recent years who secretly assisted settlers at illegal outposts against IDF enforcement actions.

“I am not especially worried, this is democracy. I assume that they will show responsibility regarding classified intelligence.”

Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom

Despite these concerns, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said, “I am not especially worried, this is democracy. I assume that they will show responsibility regarding classified intelligence.”

Other intelligence officials echoed similar themes.

They said that democratic rules mean that such questions are irrelevant. In other words, they said the public selects the leaders, and it is not the place of the intelligence professional echelon to question the public’s choice.

At most, professional intelligence officials can give the best advice they have to the politically elected echelon and hope for the best.

In that sense, they said that it is true that both in the US and Israel, there is sometimes a price to democracy – namely that the public may sometimes pick political officials who are not always sufficiently sophisticated to fully handle national security decisions.

It will be challenging if Smotrich, Ben-Gvir have top Israeli defense posts

A former senior officer told The Jerusalem Post that while it’s a completely political issue, it will be challenging if Smotrich or Ben-Gvir get top defense posts.

“It will be a very bitter taste for many that people who do not have experience are giving orders,” he said.

Another former senior officer told the Post that while who could fill what portfolio is all “a wild guess” until the government is formed, there have been defense ministers in the past who had no previous experience. 

And, at the end of the day, it’s on incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hand out portfolios. 

All ministers, they said, have limits in what they can do, “and the prime minister has the formal right to hire or fire all ministers.”

Netanyahu, he continued, will have a problematic government with no center or left-wing ministers as part of his coalition. “It will be hard for him, he understands the importance of what the ICC [International Criminal Court] or sanctions can do [if Israel’s policies depart too far from global standards]. Unlike Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.”

Regarding the ongoing terror attacks by Palestinians against Israelis and IDF troops, the source said should Ben-Gvir and Smotrich get the Defense and Public Security portfolios, “I don’t think they can handle it.”

According to the source, the violence in the West Bank won’t remain there should it continue.

“It never just stays in the West Bank, and I expect that many Israeli-Arabs who use their weapons against their own brethren in criminal ways, it can one day extend to attacks against Israelis.”

While it’s not yet a full-blown intifada, “if they act like how they speak, we will be heading toward a full-blown eruption of violence.”

“Hamas won’t be able to stay quiet,” should the violence continue. “And don’t even ask about Hezbollah.” 

A third source, who has spent decades in the military, told the Post that while it’s still hypothetical that Smotrich could become defense minister, should it happen, “it’s a bridge too far. There’s a limit. It’s not a realistic option.”

The source explained that should he be given the portfolio, he would have a lot of influence regarding the situation in the West Bank. 

“It’s a very sensitive and violent issue, and he might try to influence and lead us toward an escalation. It’s a real threat,” he warned.

Likud MK Yoav Kish revealed that Ayelet Shaked's decision to run to the end of the elections despite polls saying she would not pass the threshold was coordinated with the Likud Party in order to keep other parties below the electoral threshold in an interview with N12 on Wednesday.

"We didn't promise her a position, but there was talk of forgiveness. She did the right thing," said Kish.

"[Ayelet Shaked] did the right thing."

MK Yoav Kish

Both Shaked and the Likud Party later denied the claim, with Shaked saying the decision to run until the end was her own.

Shaked added, however, that "out of responsibility for the right bloc, I talked with Yariv Levin and made sure that in case we do not pass the electoral threshold, the run will not harm the right bloc. Levin clarified that running is not at all harmful to the bloc, but the opposite."

Likud head Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters on the night of the Israeli elections, at the party headquarters in Jerusalem, November 2, 2022 (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

The Likud Party stated simply that "there was no coordination with Ayelet Shaked." The party reportedly ordered members to stop giving interviews after Kish's statements.

Shaked was not expected to pass

Well before the elections, polls showed that Shaked would be unable to pass the electoral threshold. As of Wednesday evening, Shaked's HaBayit HaYehudi party stood at about 1.15% of the vote, well below the electoral threshold which sits at 3.25% of the vote.

As Benjamin Netanyahu looks ready to retake the premiership in the near future, attention will quickly return to the Iran issue and how he might handle it differently than the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid governments dating back to July 2021.

Will he be more likely to launch a preemptive strike against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program?

And will he return the Jewish state to loud public disagreements with the Biden administration over Iran policy?

Stepping back for a minute, there is a lot in common between the views of the past and expected future Netanyahu government (there are no signs that his policy views have changed) and the Bennett-Lapid administration on Tehran.

Both governments undertook risky Mossad operations to set back the ayatollahs’ nuclear program.

Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. (credit: LISI NIESNER/ REUTERS)

Also, both governments opposed the US desire to return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Further, both governments wanted to maintain global economic sanctions against Iran, only being ready to accept a deal which significantly strengthened and lengthened the 2015 deal to include additional problematic aspects of the Islamic Republic’s behavior.

But there were some big differences as well.

Netanyahu in the past went out of his way to publicly accost the Biden administration (and the Obama administration before it) for going too easy on Tehran.

It was not enough for him to transmit his objections to Biden-Obama policies in private, he spoke against Iran nuclear deals before Congress, in the media and at just about any and every public opportunity he got.

According to Netanyahu, this was important to win the hearts and minds of Americans to turn the country against any conciliatory policy with the ayatollahs.

Bennett-Lapid made some speeches against Biden for wanting to return to the nuclear deal without sufficient concessions from Iran, but went out of their way not to do this in the US in Biden’s face.

They tried to keep their criticism either private or for Israeli audiences.

Everyone knew where they stood on the Iran issue, but they did not try to influence the American public or get involved in the American domestic politics of the issue.

Expectations are that Netanyahu will turn the clock back to his more public criticism as this reflects his philosophy of how to influence American policy long-term.

However, Bennett-Lapid had some clear successes in getting the US to back off from removing the IRGC from the terror list. This and some other points could be chalked up to their quiet diplomacy tactics.

In other words, possibly top US officials listened to their advice and intelligence analysis on Iran more because they felt they were getting solely objective information without political overtones.

Is it possible that Netanyahu will entertain trying out some of the more quiet diplomacy tactics now that it has been demonstrated to have some impact?

It may be that Netanyahu may give quiet diplomacy a try in the near future, given that Iran deal negotiations are currently indefinitely on pause.

Yet, should Biden at some point return to pursuing getting back into the deal more aggressively, Netanyahu’s gloves will likely come off as in the past.

Whether the Netanyahu or Bennett-Lapid tactic is more effective in influencing US policy, and which helps Israel’s image long-term in the US, is in the eye of the beholder.

But this is an area where the election results will likely have a real impact in changing policy with Iran and the US.

A preemptive strike is much harder to judge.

Netanyahu has said that he might have ordered a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear program during the 2010-2012 period if Israel’s defense establishment chiefs had not opposed him.

He certainly likes to present himself as the most aggressive of Israel’s leaders on the subject of Tehran.

However, Bennett-Lapid spoke loudly about a potential strike and gave larger budgets to the IDF than Netanyahu to have the capabilities for a strike be more ready.

Famously, Bennett-Lapid tried to undermine Netanyahu’s security credentials, saying he was neglectful of funding the IDF’s needs to being ready for a strike on the Islamic Republic.

At the same time, Bennett-Lapid let Iran cross a variety of thresholds - from enriching uranium up to the 60% level in large quantities to ordering shutting down dozens of IAEA nuclear inspector cameras – without attacking. This seems to show that they would not have attacked Tehran absent some sort of later event – such as a clear intelligence finding that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had made a decision to break out toward nuclear weapons.

Netanyahu has historically showed restraint when it came to using broad shows of force in conflicts with Gaza.

All of Netanyahu’s actual record for using force suggests that he is no more likely to actually pull the trigger for a preemptive strike against Tehran than Bennett-Lapid were.

In that sense, any change in policy about using force is likely to be far more about style than actual results.

The last piece of policy with Iran is continuing to combat its attempts to develop a new presence in Syria.

On that issue, Bennett-Lapid continued Netanyahu’s “war between wars” policy of striking any strategic new Iranian weapons being smuggled into Syria, so no change is expected. 

On Tuesday, voters turned out in record numbers in order to have their say in the democratic process, resulting in the election of a government led by now former-former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and including outspoken political extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir: a government that, if its campaign promises are fulfilled, could radically impact the nation’s economy.

First, some context: the economy that Netanyahu’s government stands to inherit is actually doing pretty well, compared to other developed countries. Israel currently boasts the second-lowest inflation rate and one of the highest growth rates in the OECD. As such, the country’s incoming leaders will have more economic degrees of freedom than other nations may.

“The promises made by these parties are such that they can very quickly lead Israel down the rabbit hole.”

Prof. Dan Ben-David

With that in mind, “The promises made by these parties are such that they can very quickly lead Israel down the rabbit hole,” said Prof. Dan Ben-David, head of the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research and an economist at Tel Aviv University. According to him, the threat posed to Israel’s economic well-being by the nation’s new leadership is both present and substantial.

How does a Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir government threaten Israel's economy?

“In terms of straightforward economics, they are promising tons of money to various sectors. Netanyahu has promised free education from the age of zero, he talked about freezing interest rates and arnona (municipal tax payments), he promised to give full funding to all of the haredi schools,” Ben-David said. “That's going to cost a lot of money, not to mention the fact that it's completely going to mortgage Israel's future.”

Head of the Likud Party MK Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters on the night of the Israeli elections, at the party headquarters in Jerusalem, November 2, 2022. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

Basic economics aside, there is a critical political factor in play. If Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party manages to reform the country’s judicial and political systems as it intends to do, it could lead to severe ramifications on the world stage.

“Those actions can basically bring down the developed world's wrath on us,” Ben-David warned. “When you have Jewish supremacists in leading political cabinet positions, what does that say about Israel's ability to defend itself against accusations of apartheid elsewhere? All you need to do is look at what happened in South Africa to get a glimpse of the kind of economic sanctions that we may get hit with if this government follows through with even a part of the things that they promised to do.”

“When you have Jewish supremacists in leading political cabinet positions, what does that say about Israel's ability to defend itself against accusations of apartheid elsewhere? All you need to do is look at what happened in South Africa to get a glimpse of the kind of economic sanctions that we may get hit with if this government follows through with even a part of the things that they promised to do.”

Prof. Dan Ben-David

Enough serious economic turmoil from mishandling or severe sanctions could in turn lead to the evacuation of Israel’s largest economic contributors, Ben-David warned.

“It could happen way before the international community wakes up: the entire hi-tech industry, all of the physicians and all of the senior faculty in all of the research universities in Israel make up less than 4% of the population. If a critical mass of the young, educated and skilled people in Israel reach the conclusion that it's game over and leave in the next few years, then the game ends a lot quicker than it would have otherwise,” he said.

It’s yet uncertain which of the many promises made by the entering parties will come to fruition, but if Israel’s new leadership doesn’t tread carefully, the nation could be in for even more change than it asked for.

Palestinians said on Wednesday that the rise of right-wing parties in the Israeli elections shows that there is no partner for peace in Israel.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said that the Palestinians had no “illusions” that the elections would produce an Israeli peace partner.

“The results confirm that we have no partner in Israel for peace,” he said. “The international community must assume its responsibilities to implement the resolutions of international legitimacy and provide protection for our people from the aggressive Israeli policies after the rise of racist parties to power.”

“The results confirm that we have no partner in Israel for peace. The international community must assume its responsibilities to implement the resolutions of international legitimacy and provide protection for our people from the aggressive Israeli policies after the rise of racist parties to power.”

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh

The rise of religious right-wing parties in the elections, Shtayyeh added, “is a natural result of the growing extremism and racism in Israeli society.”

Shtayyeh said that the Palestinian people will not stop their “legitimate struggle to end the occupation, gain their freedom, and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, regardless of the identity of the winners of the Israeli elections. The difference between the Israeli parties is the same as the difference between Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola.”

A Palestinian smokes shisha as he watches TV news about the Israeli elections, in Hebron in the West Bank, November 1, 2022. (credit: MUSSA QAWASMA/REUTERS)

Do the election outcomes pose a threat to Palestinians and Israeli Arabs?

Senior PLO official Tayseer Khaled called for the formation of a “united national front” consisting of Palestinians and Arab Israelis to confront “fascism” in Israel.

Khaled said that the results of the elections show that hate speech has become part of the official discourse in Israel.

He warned that the outcome of the elections posed a threat to both the Palestinians and the Arab Israelis.

The PLO’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Democratic Fronts for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said in separate statements that results of the elections “reflect the right-wing and fascist trends of Israeli society.”

“The election results do not bear anything new,” the PFLP argued. “There is no difference between the right-wing parties in Israel when it comes to the Palestinian issue. The rise of these parties constitutes a severe blow to those who bet on any peaceful solution.”

The DFLP said that the results of the elections should drive the Palestinians to work toward achieving unity and abandon the path of negotiations with Israel.

The group called on the PA to implement the resolution of the PLO Central Council to halt security coordination and suspend all agreements signed with Israel.

Hassan Asfour, a former PA official and political activist, wrote that the victory of “fascism” in Israel was a “natural outcome of the assassination of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.”

The victory of “fascism," he said, “confirmed that the settlements were not only a threat to the land of Palestine, but rather a center for the production of fascist groups which posed a direct threat to the [Israeli] entity itself.”

Asfour too said that the PA leadership should respond by cutting all ties with Israel. He also said that the rise of the right-wing parties should serve as a warning message to the Arab countries that normalized their relations with Israel.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, has again threatened to sever all ties with Israel.

In a speech before the Arab summit in Algiers, Abbas did not comment on the results of the voting in Israel.

“I must tell you, frankly, that Israel, the occupying power, is systematically destroying the two-state solution, disavowing the agreements signed with it, and continuing its unilateral practices. This has left us no choice but to reconsider the entire existing relationship with Israel.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

“I must tell you, frankly, that Israel, the occupying power, is systematically destroying the two-state solution, disavowing the agreements signed with it, and continuing its unilateral practices,” Abbas said. “This has left us no choice but to reconsider the entire existing relationship with Israel.”

He also threatened to pursue Palestinian efforts to prosecute Israel before international courts.

Abbas urged the Arab countries to form a ministerial committee to act in the international arena “to expose the practices of the Israeli occupation authorities and to explain our Arab narrative, which is completely absent in the West where the Zionist narrative prevails.”

Despite making up just over 50% of Israeli society today, women will not find themselves equally represented in the soon-to-be-formed government coalition, with just eight women having secured themselves a place in the 65-seat majority coalition. Or, to put it into percentages, just 12.31% of the new coalition will be women.

At the time of its dissolution, the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government had 24 women sitting as MKs and another seven female ministers who had resigned under Norwegian Law. And, not only did their government have the highest representation of women to date, but it also boasted a female party leader - Labor's Merav Michaeli.

The new governing coalition will be made up of four parties - Likud, under Benjamin Netanyahu; The Religious Zionist Party under Bezalel Smotrich; Shas, under Arye Deri; and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) under Moshe Gafni.

A total of five out of the eight women in the next coalition will be from Likud, with the remaining three coming from the Religious Zionist Party. The haredi Shas and UTJ parties do not allow women to join.

TRANSPORTATION MINISTER Miri Regev resorted to making threats that took advantage of the power she wields from her position in the government. This is a criminal offense, and it needs to be stopped. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

The first woman on the Likud Party list is former transport minister Miri Regev in the ninth slot on the party list.

She is followed by Idit Silman in 16th place, Galit Distal Atbaryan in the 20th slot, newcomer Tali Gottlieb and former social equalities minister Gila Gamliel in slots 25 and 30 respectively.

In the Religious Zionist Party, Orit Struck occupies 4th place, followed by Michal Waldiger coming in 8th, and Limor Sohn Har-Meleh taking 13th place.

Who are the women of the Likud party?

Number 9: Miri Regev

Miri Regev has climbed to impressive heights throughout both her political career and the military career that came before it, expanding the glass ceiling for her female peers. During her 25-year-long military career, Regev served as the head of the IDF's Spokesperson's Unit, becoming the face and voice of the military during both the Gaza disengagement and the Second Lebanon War.

After retiring from the army, Regev joined the Likud party in 2008, securing the 27th slot on the party list. By 2015, however, her popularity parachuted her all the way to 5th place and a job as the country's transport minister.

When it comes to the issue of violence against women, Regev has shown herself to be a vocal person. In August 2021 at the end of a long legal battle after Shira Isakov's ex-husband was convicted of attempting to murder her, Regev shared a statement in favor of the ruling and in support of Isakov.

In her statement, she called Isakov "a model for many women in the fight against domestic violence," and said that "all in society must denounce and fight against violence of any kind against women."

Yamina MK Idit Silman at the Knesset, April 25, 2022. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Number 16: Idit Silman

Despite her relatively high slot on the Likud list, Silman wasn't always a member of their party. In fact, until earlier this year, she was a member of Bennett's Yamina, and served as number five on his list. In her role as Coalition Chairwoman, Silman faced fierce opposition, even from her now political partners, some of whom turned to misogyny as a way to target her.

In June of last year, Silman became the target of Likud MK Miki Zohar (now number 10 on the Likud list) during a Knesset session she was overseeing. After Silman failed to turn her attention to Zohar's interruptions, he lashed out at her, saying: "Who are you anyway? Answer me like a good girl."

While Zohar later apologized for his remarks, they nevertheless sparked a conversation about the treatment of women in positions of power.

During her time in the Bennett-Lapid coalition, Silman served as chairman of the Health Committee, placing a focus on women's health, and the importance of including more women in medical research.

After leaving the coalition in April 2022, Silman accused Bennett of attempting to portray her as "weak," and said that he would not have said her decision to leave the coalition was caused by "immense stress" if she was a man.

Galit Distal Atbaryan (credit: GALIT DISTAL ATBARYAN/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Number 20: Galit Distal Atbaryan

After entering Knesset for the first time in 2021, Galit Distal Atbaryan stressed the importance of freedom and safety for all sectors of society.

"What resonates with me more than anything is not a sense of security, but a sense of freedom," she said at the time. "The freedom of women to walk around safely in the office, on the street, inside their homes. The freedom of Arab women to enjoy one night that is quiet and free of anxiety, without tossing and turning in bed, wondering whether their child will be murdered on the street at night or will return home safely.

"The freedom of Haredi women to choose to partition themselves from men because that is the dictate of their conscience and it is their free, legitimate and full choice."

She also spoke about being a child of Iranian Jews who came to Israel and the importance of being able to live freely as "a Jewish woman building a home on the land of my forefathers."

Number 25: Tali Gottlieb

While the first three women on the Likud list have proven themselves to be advocates for women's rights to varying degrees, the newly elected Gottlieb, who will serve in the slot reserved for new women, is seen by many as controversial.

In her line of work as a defense attorney, Gottlieb, who has said that "the word feminism disgusts [her]" became known for her work defending men accused of sexual crimes, claiming that the number of cases she oversaw was around 5,000.

She drew the ire of women and feminist movements for her comments regarding the "Me Too" movement, about which she said that "if you bring out allegations against a celebrity who just started a new role, and there's no clear explanation as to why you suddenly remembered to do so now, I don't accept it. There's no reason for it not to be vindictive. A string of allegations doesn't impress me either."

"If you bring out allegations against a celebrity who just started a new role, and there's no clear explanation as to why you suddenly remembered to do so now, I don't accept it. There's no reason for it not to be vindictive. A string of allegations doesn't impress me either."

Tali Gottlieb

MK Gila Gamliel and KCAC Director Josh Reinstein (credit: Courtesy)

Number 30: Gila Gamliel

When longtime Likud member Gila Gamliel placed 30th on the Likud list after their 2022 primaries, some were concerned that she would not be a part of the 25th Knesset. However, now that she is safely inside, she may choose to pick up where she left off in 2020, as social equality minister.

Prior to serving as the country's first social equality minister between 2015-2020, a role in which she oversaw the rights of senior citizens and youth and the advancement of gender equality, Gamliel held a host of other roles, including chair of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women.

During her time as minister, Gamliel was noted to have had an excellent relationship with the current chair of the Committee to Advance the Status of Women, Aida Touma-Sliman, and the two worked together frequently in efforts to advance the status of Arab women in Israel. She has stated in the past that one of her main goals was to reduce the disparity between Arab and Jewish women.

Who are the women of the Religious Zionist Party?

Orit Struck (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Number 4: Orit Struck

For many religious Zionists, Hebron resident Orit Struck is a feminist figure to look up to, proof that women can also be influential figures in the religious Zionist movement.

Struck was first elected to the Knesset as part of the Habayit Hayehudi list in 2013, but lost her seat in 2015. She then returned to Knesset in 2021 as part of the Religious Zionist Party's list.

Prior to her political career, Struck served as the head of the Women's Committee for the Cave of the Patriarchs, an organization that worked to convince the political system to reopen the cave for Jewish prayer after Kahanist terrorist Baruch Goldstein massacred 30 Muslim worshippers during Ramadan prayers.

In 2014, Struck successfully prevented then-Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett from merging his party with the short-lived Ha-am Itanu party, which did not allow women to run on its list.

Michal Waldiger, No. 2 on the Religious Zionist List attends preparations for the new Knesset on April 5. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

Number 8: Michal Waldiger

Michal Waldiger first entered politics as a council member for Givat Shmuel in 2013, a role in which she held the Welfare Portfolio and served on the Committee for the Advancement of Women. While Waldiger has not specifically made women's issues the center of her portfolio, she has vowed to put mental health at the top of her agenda, and served as the chairwoman for Bat Ami for five years, working religious girls during their National Service.

Number 13: Limor Sohn Har-Meleh

Knesset newcomer Limor Sohn Har-Meleh has not made many public statements on women's issues and rights, if she has made any at all. In 2003, Har-Meleh was seriously injured in a terror attack, and her first husband, Shalom Har-Meleh was killed.

Unlike Struck and Waldiger, who belong to Smotrich's faction of the Religious Zionist Party, Har-Meleh is the first woman to join Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit faction. He welcomed her to the party by calling her a "symbol of Jewish determination" and saying that "a ship with power must have a woman with power."

Israel's opposition sees double the female representation

While Merav Michaeli has held the title of "only female party leader in the coalition" for the past year and a half she will now become the only female party leader in the opposition, with the Israeli Labor Party just scraping by with 3.57% of the vote.

Joining Michaeli in the opposition will be 18 other women, over double the number of women who will be serving in the expected coalition.

Alongside Michaeli will be Labor's Naama Lazimi and Efrat Rayten Marom, meaning that 3/4 of the seats maintained by the party will be held by women.

Joining them in the opposition will be Yesh Atid's female MKs: Orna Barbivai, Karine Elharrar, Merav Cohen, Merav Ben Ari, Michal Shir Segman, Tatiana Mazarsky, Yasmin Fridman, Dvora Biton and Shiri Naor.

From the National Unity Party, Pnina Tamano-Shata, Yifat Shasha Biton, Orit Farkash Hacohen and Sharren Haskal add their voices to the women of the opposition.

Yisrael Beytenu's Yulia Malinovsky, Ra'am's Iman Khatib-Yasin and Hadash Ta'al's Aida Touma Sliman complete the group.

Despite an intense campaign from Meretz in the weeks leading up to the elections, the party failed to pass the voter threshold, garnering just 3.2% of the vote. Had they passed, however, party leader Zehava Galon and Michal Rozin would have brought the number of women in the opposition up to 21.

While it's too soon to know exactly how the makeup of the 25th Knesset will impact the fight for equality, it's safe to assume that the conversation around women's issues in the government is about to become much, much quieter.

With 85.9% of the ballots from Tuesday's general election counted by 2:06 p.m. on Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party has gained another seat, rising to 32 mandates.

Yesh Atid remains at 24 mandates, Religious Zionist Party at 14, and the National Unity Party at 12.

Shas dropped down to 11 mandates, and United Torah Judaism is at eight mandates.

Yisrael Beytenu, Ra'am, and Hadash-Ta'al remained at five mandates, and Labor at four.

Meretz and Balad have not crossed the electoral threshold.