Ya’ari on Bibi: ‘You can’t steer a car like this’
"The people [protesting] are the ones who serve in the army, pay taxes, and build the Israeli economy – they feel infuriated, and they are saying no."
ISRAEL’S Channel 12 Middle East commentator Ehud Ya’ari believes there is a chance the protests in Israel could turn violent, as the people on the streets “are not going to let the government take control over the judicial system”, but he believes a compromise will be achieved soon, followed by likely elections within about a year.
Speaking at an Australia-Israel & Jewish Affairs Council dinner for Sydney-based media on March 2, Ya’ari said, “We have a situation which I describe as a weakened and tired Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu] – a changed Bibi, because of his trial – who still, as prime minister, has his pair of hands on the wheel, but his allies who are on the extreme right wing, have their feet on the brake and on the gas.
“You cannot steer a car like this, and Bibi is intelligent enough to know this.
“He is trying to escape a trial … and in order to get this, he was willing to make unbelievable concessions to a small fringe group of ultra right-wingers – including people he refused to even have photos with during the election campaign.”
Ya’ari predicts a deal will be reached between the government and the opposition, based on a framework orchestrated by president Isaac Herzog, “but there’s only a five-week window for it, due to parliamentary scheduling”.
“It will be difficult due to the personalities involved … and it will take many more demonstrations on the streets, and – and I hope not – a deterioration to some violence.
“The people [protesting] are the ones who serve in the army, pay taxes, and build the Israeli economy – they feel infuriated, and they are saying no.”
Ya’ari added, “I don’t think [this] government, in its present format, can survive for more than a year, and that’s not just because of the judicial reforms, but for a variety of reasons, including its West Bank policies.”
“I think we’re at a point of momentous change in Israeli politics, where the centre will take charge again.”
comments