Netanyahu may fall, but his far-right legacy in Israel is going nowhere

Detailed summary

Israel’s far-right is accused of embedding a hardline agenda so deeply that reversing it may prove almost impossible.

As Israel’s opposition looks to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speculation has centred on the possible fate of the current government’s more hardline, right-wing elements, including the parties led by the unapologetically pro-settler Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, convicted of inciting terrorism.

While all members of Netanyahu’s cabinet, with the unflinching backing of the opposition politicians hoping to supplant them, have supported Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and attacks on regional states, it is Smotrich and Ben-Gvir who have been the focus of international attention and lightning rods for criticism by Western governments.

With talk of Netanyahu looking to form a unity government with Eisenkot, both ministers have publicly opposed a government led by the former chief-of-staff.

In the run-up to the vote, Ben-Gvir took the unusual step of claiming that Netanyahu now has a choice of selecting himself to “save Israel”, or Eisenkot.

Smotrich, meanwhile, has warned his ultra-Orthodox political allies against entering negotiations with Eisenkot, saying he will “dump them” once he uses their votes to oust Netanyahu.

Netanyahu formed a coalition government with Ben-Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) and Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party in 2022, giving both several of Israel’s most important cabinet positions. Smotrich became finance minister, granting him control over the Israeli budget and a number of institutions in the occupied West Bank, while Ben-Gvir was named national security minister.

Drawing on a wellspring of hardline Zionism, Jewish supremacy and what critics describe as unapologetic racism, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have exploited their political leverage to advance Israel’s most hardline policies over the past three years. They have also transformed their ministries to reflect their hardline ideological projects.

Both have been enthusiastic proponents of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza…

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