In media reporting on Israel’s current coalition government, journalists will occasionally provide a brief description of certain parties as ‘far-right’ or ‘ultra-nationalist.’ However, media reports rarely go further to include information about their stated goals and ideology, particularly on the issue of Palestinian self-determination. This leads to misunderstandings about the Israeli government’s intentions towards the Palestinians, the status of the peace process, and the very possibility of a two-state solution.
Note that media’s failure to examine the core positions of Israel’s governing parties stands in stark contrast to the media’s reductive descriptions of Palestinian liberation movements, as pointed out in CJPME’s other essay, “What Palestinian Groups Really Seek.”[1]
CJPME encourages journalists to include greater description, like the context provided below, in their reporting on the Israeli government and its constituent political parties. In addition to specific information about individual parties and their leaders, reporting should note that the coalition itself is explicitly committed to the denial of Palestinian self-determination.
Israel’s far-right coalition government
The Israeli government that came to power in the November 2022 election was formed from a coalition of far-right political parties that are strictly opposed to Palestinian self-determination. This government opposes the creation of a Palestinian state and is actively pursuing the annexation of the occupied West Bank.[2] In December 2022, the coalition published a statement of guiding principles which states that the Jewish people have an “exclusive” right to “all parts of the Land of Israel” (including the occupied Palestinian territories), explicitly denying the rights of Palestinians.[3] As described below, key coalition partners also hold supremacist beliefs about the subordinate status of Palestinians and have even called for their expulsion.
The coalition is composed of 6 parties including Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), and Noam.
Likud (Party of Benjamin Netanyahu)
Brief
Likud is a right-wing political party which is opposed to a Palestinian state under any circumstances and believes that the territory under Israeli control belongs exclusively to the Jewish people. It has origins in Zionist terrorist organizations in the 1930s-1940s.
Additional
Likud was founded in 1973 and first came to power in 1977 under Menachem Begin. Begin was the former leader of the Irgun, a Zionist militant group which was considered a terrorist organization due to its attacks on Palestinians and the British colonial occupiers.[4] In 1948, Begin led the Herut party, which was described by Albert Einstein and Hannah Arendt as a "terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine” which resembled European fascist parties and supported racial superiority.[5] Likud was founded as an alliance of Herut with other right-wing parties.
The original Likud Party Platform in 1977 opposed the creation of a Palestinian state, claiming that the West Bank “will not be handed to any foreign administration; between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.”[6] In 1979, Begin said “there will never be a Palestinian state.”[7] The 1999 Likud Party platform stated that “The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river.”[8] The Likud Party voted in 2002 and 2017 that it will never agree to a Palestinian state under any circumstances.[9] Instead, Likud’s leaders have expressed support for giving Palestinians a degree of limited autonomy similar to Bantustans under Apartheid South Africa.
Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s career has been characterized by strong opposition to Palestinian statehood from the 1970s until today.[10] When the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, Netanyahu wrote that a Palestinian state would be a “mortal threat to Israel.”[11] In 2009, Netanyahu made a partial exception to this trend by giving a speech claiming he could support a “demilitarized” Palestinian state (in other words, less than a fully sovereign state) if Palestinians gave up their claims to Jerusalem and refugee rights.[12] Since then, Netanyahu has promised there would be no Palestinian state on his watch,[13] and he has said that Israel must “crush” Palestinian ambitions for a state.[14] Regarding the rights of Palestinian citizens, Netanyahu has said that Israel is “not a state of all its citizens.”[15] In 2020, Netanyahu attempted to formally annex most of the occupied West Bank.[16]
Currently, the party has signed the coalition government’s statement of principles which claims an “exclusive” right for the Jewish people to the entire “Land of Israel,” including the occupied Palestinian territories.[17]
United Torah Judaism
Brief
United Torah Judaism (UTJ) is a union of two ultra-Orthodox religious parties which is opposed to a Palestinian state and believes that the territory under Israeli control belongs exclusively to the Jewish people.
Additional
Founded in 1992, the UTJ’s position on Palestinian self-determination has not always been clear.[18] However, UTJ leader Meir Porusha said in 2020 that the party is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, emphasizing that it is “something which we cannot agree to in any fashion, since the Land of Israel was given to the People of Israel.”[19]
Currently, the party has signed onto the coalition government’s statement of principles which claims an “exclusive” right for the Jewish people to the entire “Land of Israel,” including the occupied Palestinian territories.[20]
Shas
Brief
Shas is an ultra-Orthodox religious party which opposes the creation of a Palestinian state and whose founder has called for the annihilation of Palestinians.
Additional
Founded in 1984, Shas has historically taken an ambivalent position towards Palestinian self-determination and in 1993 the party abstained on a vote to support the Oslo Accords. In recent years, however, it has “hardened against the idea of a Palestinian state,” aligning closer to Likud.[21]
Shas founder Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Chief Sephardi Rabbi, has made genocidal statements about Palestinians. In 2001, Yosef called for the annihilation of Palestinians, saying: "It is forbidden to be merciful to them. You must send missiles to them and annihilate them. They are evil and damnable,” and added that the Lord would “exterminate them, devastate them and vanish them from this world.”[22] In 2010, he said "Let our enemies and those who hate us die … [Abbas] and all these evil people should perish from this world. God should strike them with a plague, them and these Palestinians."[23]
Currently, the party has signed onto the coalition government’s statement of principles which claims an “exclusive” right for the Jewish people to the entire “Land of Israel,” including the occupied Palestinian territories.[24]
Religious Zionism (Party of Bezalel Smotrich)
Brief
Religious Zionism is a far-right and racist party that supports the annexation of occupied Palestinian territory and seeks to expel Palestinians who do not give up their national aspirations.
Additional
Founded in 1998 under the name Tkuma (and still officially known as National Union—Tkuma), Religious Zionism is steadfastly opposed to any form of Palestinian self-determination but supports the coerced transfer (expulsion) of Palestinians from the occupied territories. In 2017, the party published a “subjugation plan” whose purpose was “to erase all Palestinian national hope”[25] and which was reported by Haaretz as a “surrender-or-transfer ultimatum.”[26] Under the plan, Israel would annex the occupied territories without giving the Palestinians voting rights. Palestinians who did not “forgo their national aspirations” would be forced to emigrate, or else be defeated through “military victory.”[27]
Party leader Bezalel Smotrich has expressed opposition to the social mixing of Jews and Palestinians[28] as well as support for the racial segregation of maternity wards.[29] He believes that Palestinians should be second-class citizens because “according to Jewish law there must always be some inferiority.”[30] He also told Palestinian members of the Knesset that they were “are here by mistake – because Ben-Gurion didn't finish the job and throw you out in 1948,”[31] making a reference to the forced expulsion of more than 750,000 Palestinians during the creation of Israel.
Currently, the party has signed onto the coalition government’s statement of principles which claims an “exclusive” right for the Jewish people to the entire “Land of Israel,” including the occupied Palestinian territories.[32]
Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) (Party of Itamar Ben-Gvir)
Brief
Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) is a far-right and racist party with origins in Kahanism, a fascist and terroristic movement which calls for the expulsion of Palestinians from Israel.
Additional
Jewish Power was formed in 2012 and is the latest manifestation of the fascist Kahanist movement, which calls for the expulsion of Palestinians from Israel and wants to turn Israel into a theocratic state.[33] The party’s electoral platform calls for annexing the occupied Palestinian territories and actively pursuing the “emigration of Israel’s enemies” (i.e. Palestinians).[34] Party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir told a reporter in 2021 that “Jerusalem is ours. The Palestinians can go to – the Gaza Strip should also be ours – can go to Saudi Arabia or other places, like Iraq or Iran. Not here, this is our place. Israel is our country.”[35]
Kahanism is based on the racist ideology of Rabbi Meir Kahane who founded the Kach party, which was proscribed as a terrorist organization in Israel, the US, and Canada.[36] As a member of the Knesset in the 1980s, Kahane attempted to strip non-Jews of their citizenship and ban mixed marriages.[37] Jewish Power’s leaders are disciples of Kahane and many have previously held leadership roles in Kach.[38] Ben-Gvir is a former Kach activist who has celebrated Kahane and the Kahanist terrorist Baruch Goldstein as heroes,[39] and has himself been convicted of racist incitement and support for a terrorist organization.[40]
Currently, the party has signed onto the coalition government’s statement of principles which claims an “exclusive” right for the Jewish people to the entire “Land of Israel,” including the occupied Palestinian territories.[41]
Noam
Brief
Noam is a far-right religious and homophobic party which believes that Palestinians should be subordinate to Jews and claims that the territory under Israeli control belongs exclusively to the Jewish people.
Additional
Noam was founded in 2019 by Avi Maoz, a long-time pro-settlement activist who is one of several hundred settlers living in Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem.[42] It is well known for its opposition to LGBTQ+ rights, feminism, Palestinians, and Reform Judaism.[43]
Noam holds supremacist beliefs about the status of Jews over Palestinians. Moaz explained in 2021 that Palestinian citizens have a subordinate status to Jews: "On the individual level the Arabs have equal rights and on the national level they do not – they have no rights over this land. It is a Jewish country. We have the right from the days of the creation of the world."[44] Moaz has also said that it is more important for Israel to be Jewish than democratic: “The dream of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel is what all the generations have dreamt of and fought for. They did not dream of a state of all its citizens nor of the only democracy in the Middle East.”[45]
Noam joined forces with extremist anti-Palestinian parties as part of the Religious Zionism slate, and has signed onto the coalition government’s statement of principles which claims an “exclusive” right for the Jewish people to the entire “Land of Israel,” including the occupied Palestinian territories.[46]
Last Updated: 2023-07-25
[1] “What Palestinian Resistance Groups Really Want,” Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, accessed July 24, 2023 at https://www.cjpmemap.ca/what_palestinian_resistance_groups_really_seek
[2] Michael Sfard, “Israel is officially annexing the West Bank,” Foreign Policy, June 8, 2023, https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/08/israel-palestine-west-bank-annexation-netanyahu-smotrich-far-right/
[3] One of the government’s guiding principles states, “The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop the settlement of all parts of the Land of Israel — in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan and Judea and Samaria.” Judea and Samaria is how Israel refers to the occupied West Bank. The Golan is occupied Syrian territory. The Galilee and Negev are regions within Israel that have large Arab Palestinian and Bedouin populations, where Israel seeks to establish a more dominant Jewish presence. “Judicial reform, boosting Jewish identity: The new coalition’s policy guidelines,” Times of Israel, December 28, 2022, accessed July 24, 2023 at https://www.timesofisrael.com/judicial-reform-boosting-jewish-identity-the-new-coalitions-policy-guidelines/. See also “Land grabs. Homophobia. Radicalized police: What to expect from Israel’s far-right government,” +972 Magazine, December 29, 2022, https://www.972mag.com/israel-far-right-government-plans/
[4] Britannica, “Irgun Zvai Leumi,” accessed July 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Irgun-Zvai-Leumi
[5] Haaretz, “This Day in Jewish History: 1948: N.Y. Times Publishes Letter by Einstein, Other Jews Accusing Menachem Begin of Fascism,” December 4, 2014, https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2014-12-04/ty-article/.premium/1948-n-y-times-letter-by-einstein-slams-begin/0000017f-e28e-d38f-a57f-e6de6e7d0000
[6] Likud Party: Original Party Platform (1977), Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/original-party-platform-of-the-likud-party
[7] New York Times, “Begin Says Israel Will Never Allow Palestinian State in Occupied Area,” march 21, 1979, https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/21/archives/begin-says-israel-will-never-allow-palestinian-state-in-occupied.html
[8] Likud – Platform from 1999, archived copy of webpage on the State of Israel website, https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181442/https://www.knesset.gov.il/elections/knesset15/elikud_m.htm
[9] NPR, “Analysis: Israel's Likud Party Votes to Reject the Possibility of a Palestinian State,” May 12, 2002, https://legacy.npr.org/programs/watc/transcripts/2002/may/020512.gradstein2.html; Jerusalem Post, “Likud votes to oppose Palestinian state,” July 27, 2017, https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/likud-votes-to-oppose-palestinian-state-500847
[10] Haaretz, “Benjamin Netanyahu, the Undertaker of the Two-state Solution,” April 1, 2019, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israeli-palestinian-conflict-solutions/2019-04-01/ty-article/.premium/benjamin-netanyahu-the-undertaker-of-the-two-state-solution/0000017f-e9fb-d4a6-af7f-ffff3f8c0000
[11] Benjamin Netanyahu, “Peace in our time?”, New York Times, September 5, 1993, https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/05/opinion/peace-in-our-time.html
[12] New York Times, “Netanyahu Backs Palestinian State, With Caveats,” June 14, 2009, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/world/middleeast/15mideast.html
[13] Times of Israel, “No Palestinian state on my watch,” March 16, 2015, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-no-palestinian-state-under-my-watch/
[14] Times of Israel, “Netanyahu said to tell MKs: Israel ‘needs the PA,’ must ‘crush’ statement aspirations,” June 27, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-said-to-tell-knesset-panel-that-israel-needs-the-palestinian-authority
[15] The Guardian, “Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is ‘not a state of all its citizens,’” March 10, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/10/benjamin-netanyahu-says-israel-is-not-a-state-of-all-its-citizens
[16] NPR, “Netanyahu Plans to Annex Parts of the West Bank. Many Israeli Settlers Want It All,” June 18, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/06/18/878305307/netanyahu-plans-to-annex-parts-of-the-west-bank-many-israeli-settlers-want-it-al
[17] Times of Israel, “Judicial reform, boosting Jewish identity: The new coalition’s policy guidelines,” December 28, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/judicial-reform-boosting-jewish-identity-the-new-coalitions-policy-guidelines/
[18] Peter Lintl, “Israel’s Anti-liberal Coalition,” Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik: German Institute for International and Security Affairs, January 27, 2023, https://www.swp-berlin.org/10.18449/2023C05/; Al Jazeera, “Israel election: Where do the parties stand on the occupation?”, September 12, 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/9/12/israel-election-where-do-the-parties-stand-on-the-occupation
[19] Israel National News, “Does the haredi UTJ party oppose the creation of a Palestinian state?,” February 11, 2020, https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/275851
[20] Times of Israel, “Judicial reform, boosting Jewish identity: The new coalition’s policy guidelines,” December 28, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/judicial-reform-boosting-jewish-identity-the-new-coalitions-policy-guidelines/
[21] Yilmaz, Ihsan & Morieson, Nicholas, “Religious populism in Israel: The case of Shas,” Populism & Politics, European Center for Populism Studies, March 30, 2022, https://www.populismstudies.org/religious-populism-in-israel-the-case-of-shas/; Britannica, “Shas,” last updated January 18, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shas
[22] BBC News, “Rabbi calls for annihilation of Arabs,” April 10, 2001, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1270038.stm
[23] Haaretz, “Ovadia Yosef Atones to Mubarak After Declaring Palestinians Should Die,” September 16, 2010, https://www.haaretz.com/2010-09-16/ty-article/ovadia-yosef-atones-to-mubarak-after-declaring-palestinians-should-die/0000017f-ef6a-da6f-a77f-ff6e6d330000
[24] Times of Israel, “Judicial reform, boosting Jewish identity: The new coalition’s policy guidelines,” December 28, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/judicial-reform-boosting-jewish-identity-the-new-coalitions-policy-guidelines/
[25] Haaretz, “Why Religious Zionism Is Growing Darker,” May 16, 2017, https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2017-05-16/ty-article/.premium/why-religious-zionism-is-growing-darker/0000017f-e13a-d804-ad7f-f1faf5f90000
[26] Haaretz, “Israeli Party Approves Annexation Plan to Coerce Palestinian Departure,” September 13, 2017, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2017-09-13/ty-article/.premium/israeli-party-approves-annexation-plan-to-coerce-palestinian-departure/0000017f-df1c-db22-a17f-ffbd22860000
[27] Bezalel Smotrich, “Israel’s Decisive Plan,” 2017, https://hashiloach.org.il/israels-decisive-plan/
[28] Jerusalem Post, “Bayit Yehudi MK: God commanded Jews not to sell homes to Arabs,” July 17, 2015, https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Bayit-Yehudi-MK-causes-uproar-by-saying-God-commanded-Jews-not-to-sell-homes-to-Arabs-409241
[29] Reuters, “Arab-Jewish segregation comments spark furor in Israel, April 6, 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-racism-idUSKCN0X3161
[30] Haaretz, “Why Religious Zionism Is Growing Darker,” May 16, 2017, https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2017-05-16/ty-article/.premium/why-religious-zionism-is-growing-darker/0000017f-e13a-d804-ad7f-f1faf5f90000
[31] Haaretz, “Arabs ‘Are Here by Mistake, Because Ben-Gurion Didn’t Finish the Job,’ Far-right leader tells lawmakers,” October 13, 2021, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-10-13/ty-article/.highlight/arabs-are-here-by-mistake-ben-gurion-didnt-finish-the-job-far-right-leader-says/0000017f-dedb-d3a5-af7f-feffd1af0000
[32] Times of Israel, “Judicial reform, boosting Jewish identity: The new coalition’s policy guidelines,” December 28, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/judicial-reform-boosting-jewish-identity-the-new-coalitions-policy-guidelines/
[33] +972 Magazine, “Kahanism’s triumphant makeover,” October 3, 2022, https://www.972mag.com/ben-gvir-kahanism-election/; Institute for Middle East Understanding, “Factsheet: Meir Kahane & The Extremist Kahanist Movement,” February 23, 2021, https://imeu.org/article/fact-sheet-meir-kahane-the-extremist-kahanist-movement
[34] The Platform of Otzma Yehudit, accessed July 2023, https://ozma-yeudit.com/the-platform-of-otzma-yehudit-jewish-strength/
[35] Vice News, “‘Palestinians Should Go to Saudi Arabia’: The Extremist in Charge of Israel’s Security,” March 10, 2023, https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d9mq3/itamar-ben-gvir-israel
[36] See entry of “Kahane Chai (Kach)” on Public Safety Canada’s list of current terrorist entities, entry last reviewed November 21, 2018, https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-en.aspx#42
[37] +972 Magazine, “Kahanism’s triumphant makeover,” October 3, 2022, https://www.972mag.com/ben-gvir-kahanism-election/
[38] Times of Israel, “Jewish Home party, far-right Otzma Yehudit reunite ahead of third elections,” December 20, 2019, https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-home-party-far-right-otzma-yehudit-reunite-ahead-of-third-elections/
[39] In 1994, settler and Kahanist Baruch Goldstein killed 29 Palestinian worshippers in Hebron’s Ibrahimi mosque. Ben-Gvir dressed up as Goldstein for a TV interview when he was 18, and until very recently he had a portrait of Goldstein (standing in front of the mosque) hanging in his home. New Yorker, “Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of Chaos,” February 20, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/27/itamar-ben-gvir-israels-minister-of-chaos; Reuters, “Far-right jeers, U.S. censure for Ben-Gvir attendance at Kahane event,” November 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-see-how-israels-far-right-lawmakers-act-before-passing-judgement-ambassador-2022-11-10/; Haaretz, “Video Shows Ben-Gvir giving speech with words praising extremist Meir Kahane in Background,” May 2, 2023, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-05-02/ty-article/.premium/video-shows-ben-gvir-giving-speech-with-words-praising-extremist-meir-kahane-in-background/00000187-dd31-dea8-af97-dfb1cbaf0000
[40] As reported by Haaretz, “In 2008 the Jerusalem District Court convicted Ben-Gvir for inciting racism and supporting a terrorist organization for waving a sign that read ‘Arabs out’ after a terror attack in Jerusalem, as well as having signs in his car that read ‘Either us or them’ and ‘There is a solution – expel the Arab enemy.’” “Netanyahu Taps Ben-Gvir to Head Team ‘Fighting Terror Incitement by Palestinians,’ February 19, 2023, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-02-19/ty-article/.premium/ben-gvir-to-head-team-that-will-fight-terror-incitement-by-palestinians/00000186-6a21-dba0-a5c6-7a7dec6a0000
[41] Times of Israel, “Judicial reform, boosting Jewish identity: The new coalition’s policy guidelines,” December 28, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/judicial-reform-boosting-jewish-identity-the-new-coalitions-policy-guidelines/
[42] Middle East Eye, “Meet Avi Moaz, Israel’s ‘proudly homophobic’ new powerbroker,” December 16, 2022, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-meet-avi-maoz-proudly-homophobic-powerbroker
[43] The New Arab, “Avi Moaz: How a far-right politician could transform Israeli education,” January 3, 2023, https://www.newarab.com/analysis/avi-maoz-extremist-who-could-change-israeli-education
[44] “Netanyahu’s Emerging Coalition,” Israeli Center for Public Affairs, November 22, 2022, https://www.ofekcenter.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FINAL-Netanyahus-Emerging-Coalition-November-2022.pdf
[45] “Netanyahu’s Emerging Coalition,” Israeli Center for Public Affairs, November 22, 2022, https://www.ofekcenter.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FINAL-Netanyahus-Emerging-Coalition-November-2022.pdf
[46] Times of Israel, “Judicial reform, boosting Jewish identity: The new coalition’s policy guidelines,” December 28, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/judicial-reform-boosting-jewish-identity-the-new-coalitions-policy-guidelines/