Sunday June 19, 2022
I've Been Thinking:

Even as he spoke about making great efforts to stabilize his ramshackle coalition and keep the government afloat, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had already made up his mind to dissolve the Knesset and pass the premiership to Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

Bennett’s mind was made up following a conversation he had with Attorney General Gali Baharav Miyara.  During that conversation the then-prime minister attempted to understand the coalition's maneuverability.  He tried to figure out if the contentious West Bank bill - extending Israel's authority over the West Bank settlements - could be implemented despite not being approved by the Knesset.

The coalition's failure to approve the West Bank Bill in the Knesset came as a blow to the government.  As a result, following that dramatic vote, Bennett’s government was split.

The attorney general made it clear to Bennett that no legal evasive action can overcome the failure to pass the legislation. The only way to extend the regulations without a majority in the Knesset is to dissolve the government before the end of June, which would result in an automatic extension of the bill.

Once Bennett finished the conversation with the attorney general, his next call was to his wife Gilat. In that phone call he confided that he can no longer remain in position as prime minister.

Rather than watching his government get humiliated over and over again, he would rather put an end to it by himself.

And so he did.

Read my latest book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah

To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com