Tel-Chai Nation

The Jerusalem Post reported that the Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett, he who caused only so much trouble in the past year or so after he played a part in leading to repeated elections by splitting off from the other components of his party, now complains they don't feel wanted by the Likud:

Defense Minister and Yamina leader Naftali Bennett expressed frustration with the progress in coalition talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his online briefing on Sunday.

Bennett spoke after his coalition talks with Netanyahu did not go well.

"We are not under the impression that we're being thought for, even though we want to be in the government," he said. "We could end up in the opposition, in which case we would support whatever the government does that is good and oppose every bad step."

Bennett warned that under Blue and White's incoming Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn, hundreds of left-wing judges would be appointed across the country. He also questioned whether Israel would apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria without Yamina in the government.

Let's be clear. Of course I won't be happy if Blue & White goes out of their way to appoint leftist judges to the judiciary. But Bennett and Ayelet Shaked actually led to only so much frustration, right down to their attempts to cripple Israel HaYom's business, that as a result, I'm definitely of mixed minds on whether they deserve to join the government. And if they don't, it'll be hard to feel sorry for a man who became a tiresome troublemaker, and even tried to promote his party through "celebrity casting", not clear platforms, which otherwise amounted to little more than attacks on Netanyahu in some cases. Sure, this past election, they seemed to learn their lesson and shut up about the premier for a change, but the damage was done, and if they remain outside the coalition, they may deserve it. Their irresponsible approach to politics cannot go without consequence.

The best thing Bennett could do is resign, along with any other Yamina party member whose MO is questionable and slapdash. The political scene in Israel would be better off without him.

Labels: Israel, Knesset, Moonbattery