FM Yair Lapid: A Shepherd Without a Herd

In these early days of the new Israeli government, FM Yair Lapid is already trying to achieve a new turning point in the country’s foreign policy. One wonders whether he conducted any professional staff work before publicly outlining his progressive agenda. The fact that PM Naftali Bennett has been silent on this matter seems to indicate a serious problem in the country’s political culture. Bennett would do well to heed David Ben-Gurion’s credo that “an Israeli prime minister must also be his own foreign minister.”

Arab Reactions to the New Israeli Government

Dr. Edy Cohen
July 11, 2021
Paper No. 2093

Arab states and their leaders do not treat Israel as they treat other countries. This includes even simple greetings on the occasion of a new government’s being installed. The main reason is the sympathy the Palestinian issue enjoys on the street in those nations, though the leaders themselves largely despise the Palestinians. The ascent of a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated politician to the ruling coalition in Israel attracted much more interest in the Arab press than the ascent of Naftali Bennett to the PM position.

Israeli Coalition Politics and Foreign Policy

Binyamin Netanyahu supported upgrading the referendum law to placate his coalition members on the Right, but he has shown that he will welcome back the ultra-Orthodox parties under certain circumstances.