Tel-Chai Nation

Former IDF chaplain Rafi Peretz is breaking away from the pretentious Yamina party, headed as it is for now by the pretentious Naftali Bennett, and will join Netanyahu's newly formed government separately:

Outgoing Education Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz will leave the Yamina party and be appointed Jerusalem affairs minister in the new government, according to multiple reports.

Peretz accepts the offer from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lobbied him strongly on the matter yesterday.

With the way Bennett's been acting lately, which is truly alarming in his bizarre turn to anti-Netanyahu positions, I'd say Peretz made the right choice. Bennett is just such an embarrassment, and he's surely remaining in the political arena for that very reason. The Likud now says the Bennett era is over, and it decidedly should be. One of the political commentators interviewed on Israel's channel 20 a few days ago said it shouldn't be based on ministries and such powers that one joins a government, but rather, on beliefs and platforms. Bennett's certainly not taking that advice.

Anyway, the new government coalition will be sworn in this evening:

Israel’s new government is set to be sworn in on Thursday evening, bringing nearly 18 months of political gridlock to an end.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally announced on Wednesday that he had succeeded in forming a government in letters to Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz in his capacity as the temporary Knesset speaker and to President Reuven Rivlin.

The new government, which, according to the coalition agreement, will see Gantz replace Netanyahu as prime minister after 18 months, is scheduled to be sworn in Thursday evening after lawmakers vote to approve it during a Knesset plenum session that will begin at 6 p.m.

The swearing-in of the new Knesset, Israel’s first fully functioning government in over 500 days since the end of December 2018, will conclude the longest political logjam in Israel’s history, in which Netanyahu’s Likud party and Blue and White went head-to-head in an unprecedented three consecutive elections.

All that remains to be seen now is how effective it'll be at delivering anything in terms of policy. Over the next year, we'll see about all that.

Update: here's one more report on Peretz's excellent step.

Update 2: in this report, Peretz explains why he decided to join the government without the rest of the party:

Peretz told his colleagues that he disagreed with their decision to not enter the coalition and that in a time of emergency, it is essential to take part in a unity government.

Exactly. There's a serious health crisis going on, to name but one example, and then, there's Iran's nuclear threats to consider as well. And Bennett's bunch chooses to minimize the seriousness of that? Oh, geez. Bennett certainly is asking for what's transpired now, and he should be relegated to sidelines indeed, for his insulting opposition to Netanyahu for all the wrong reasons.

Labels: Israel, Jerusalem, Knesset