To Slay the Beast

That’s the stage that the Israeli government has reached, less than two months after coming into being. To say that the so-called “healing government” headed by Bennett-Lapid is actually anything but is the stuff of a thousand right-wing tweets — but it’s true nonetheless.

The broad coalition was meant to set aside thorny ideological issues and focus on getting governing back on track after a two-year hiatus caused by endless elections. But its actual record so far reads like a left-liberal wish-list on religious reform, environmental protection, and anti-Netanyahu legislation, rather than a serious attempt to find common ground.

That’s a pity. Because for any Israeli government looking to adopt a nonpartisan manifesto that could win support from all Israelis, there’s one oven-ready, as Boris Johnson might say.

It involves an undertaking that only the most stout-hearted sabra could contemplate; a task before which generations of Israeli politicians, including many battle-hardened military men have quailed. The mission is no less than slaying the fearsome, hydra-headed monster known in Hebrew as birokratiyah (red tape, in English.)