Israeli liberals fear new government will undo progress

Israel’s outgoing coalition has been the most diverse in the country’s history, bringing a slew of progressive policies on the environment, LGBTQ issues and funding for the country’s Arab minority. But now, even before it takes office, Israel’s expected new coalition government — overwhelmingly male, religious and right-wing — is promising to roll back many of the achievements of its predecessor, prompting concern from activists and liberals over where their country is headed. If its promises materialize, a tax on environmentally destructive single-use plastics could be abolished. New protections for gay Israelis could be reversed, and generous budgets for the long underserved Arab sector could be slashed. The outgoing coalition lasted for just over a year and collapsed over disagreements on the Palestinians — although on that subject, its policies were largely unchanged from previous, hard-line governments. But after Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year reign, activists say it brought a positive energy to the Knesset, or parliament, and pressed ahead on issues they say were largely ignored during his lengthy rule. Now, with Netanyahu set to take office again as head of what’s expected to be the country’s most right-wing government, fears are rising that all that will be undone. “In the last government … the public discourse was one of rights and equality and ending discrimination,” said Hila Peer, chairwoman at Aguda — The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel. What they are hearing now, Peer said, “is a discourse of fear.” Israel’s Nov. 1 elections opened the way for Netanyahu’s return, bolstered by a stable majority with ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies, among them extremist lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir. Netanyahu is expected to complete negotiations on forming a new coalition in the coming weeks. To mollify his partners, Netanyahu is expected to accede to many of their priorities, vastly different from those advanced by the outgoing government. Liberals’ fears are compounded by the coalition’s intention to weaken the Supreme Court — often the last recourse for minority groups. Netanyahu has batted away the fears, saying they arise whenever he is elected and are disproved quickly. His supporters claim the concerns are a result of a scare campaign by his opponents. “We will not permit anyone to be harmed, not their fundamental rights or personal freedoms,” Miki Zohar, a senior Likud lawmaker and Netanyahu confidante, told The Associated Press. The coalition that ousted Netanyahu last year was made up of eight ideologically diverse parties, from dovish parties that support Palestinian statehood to nationalist ones that don’t, as well as centrist factions and for the first time a small Arab Islamist party.