The American journalist writer Thomas Friedman said that to understand the ongoing political drama in Israel and the attempt to form a national unity coalition aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is enough only to realize one thing, which is that Netanyahu is making his opponents rage, exactly as former US President Donald Trump was doing .

In an article for The New York Times, Friedman believes that Netanyahu's main political strategy to win the elections has always been like Trump, which is to perpetuate a culture of "personality sanctification" and try to seize power with a slim majority by dividing Israel as many as possible. Tariqa or dualities, first the Jews versus the Arabs, then the left versus the right, the religious versus the secular, and the nationalists versus the traitors.

Nor did he, like Trump, stop at red lines and was perfectly happy to undermine Israel's democratic institutions, press freedom, rule of law and anything else that would limit his pursuit of power after 12 years as prime minister.

Which explains - adds Friedman - his struggle today to survive politically at the same time that his future is linked to investigations and legal proceedings related to charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

delicate moment

As was the case with Trump, Netanyahu was - and still is - ready to plunge Israeli society into a civil war to preserve power, which is what makes the country currently going through a sensitive moment in which the process of forming a coalition government for the post-Netanyahu period remains far from its end.

Before the fragile and incredibly ideologically diverse "coalition for change" that assembled to oust Netanyahu is sworn in, something that could last until June 14, Netanyahu and his "political henchmen" will ruthlessly use every trick the law - or outlaw - allows them to do. To stop the transfer of power.

This unlikely alliance that came together to try to overthrow Netanyahu - Friedman adds - resembles in many respects the supporters of the "Biden Doctrine" in the United States, a movement that believed that society should mend its shattered political fabric, move away from the brink and restore respect for one another after institutions and all groups of society. Trump presidency.

The Israeli version of this trend can be called the “Lapid Doctrine” after Yair Lapid, the former TV presenter and founder of the centrist “There is a Future” party, who is considered the most person who has given up his political arrogance in order to allow this coalition to exist, as he will alternate as prime minister with his rival The right-winger and his partner now, Naftali Bennett, head of the Yamina party, a religious nationalist who supports the settlements.

Even Lapid - the writer adds - allowed Bennett to take the top leadership position in the country first to enhance his chances of supporting the coalition, even though his party is much smaller.

Lapid's political rhetoric was based mainly on downplaying the importance of ideology, on pragmatism, and on restoring the health of Israel's democratic institutions that were badly damaged under Netanyahu.

Biggest taboo

The intense desire of Lapid and the new coalition to overthrow Netanyahu - the writer says - reached the point of breaking one of the biggest political taboos in Israeli political history, as they opened the way for the first time for a national unity coalition that includes the United Arab List Party, an Arab Islamic party whose four seats in the Knesset were necessary To achieve the new ruling majority.

Israeli press sources stated that Bennett and Lapid promised the head of the Arab List party, Mansour Abbas, to provide large funding in order to "address the rampant violence and organized crime in Arab society and repair the dilapidated infrastructure in Arab towns and villages" inside Israel during the next ten years.

And it was already a sign - Friedman adds - the unprecedented photo of the three leaders, Lapid, Bennett and Abbas sitting around a small table last Wednesday as they finalized their agreement, smiling for the cameras.

Describing this moment, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote, "It was a historic photo taken in a hotel room by an aide to Mansour Abbas: the defining moment for a majority to come into existence, a government that might replace Benjamin Netanyahu, although the matter is not over yet."

"But let's not forget that the man who made all this possible was not present at that session... It's Netanyahu."