Israel Policy Forum congratulates Benjamin Netanyahu on his imminent return to the prime minister’s office and his announcement of the successful formation of the next Israeli government. We hope that the new government will stay true to the vision of Israel’s founders of a secure, Jewish, and democratic state and will keep these elements in balance as it safeguards Israel’s place in the region and serves the needs of all of its citizens. We would encourage any Israeli government to uphold this vision not only with words but with deeds, and we ask Prime Minister Netanyahu to do just that.
Members of the new government with significant portfolios have espoused alarming views and policy positions that will elevate tensions with Palestinians, stress U.S.-Israel relations, create rifts with North American Jewry, and complicate Israel’s relations with its neighbors. We are deeply concerned about the government’s inclusion of extremist parties and politicians, its early embrace of a majoritarian view of democracy in which election results are all that matters, and its apparent determination to make a future separation from the Palestinians and the realization of two states impossible.
Israel holds a place of primacy for Jews around the world as the Jewish state and the Jewish homeland, and it enjoys a unique bond with the United States based upon a sense of shared democratic values that transcends basic national interests. We strongly encourage the new Israeli government to take the Israel-diaspora and U.S.-Israel relationships into account and not pursue policies that would undermine them.
Israel Policy Forum will continue to stand in support of the United States’ commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship, to pursuing a viable two-state outcome to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and to upholding a secure, Jewish, and democratic Israel. We will continue to provide policymakers and community leaders with policy and educational resources to strengthen support for these objectives, and our work will continue to reflect our values of Zionism, forthrightness, intellectual integrity, partnership, and perseverance.
