Netanyahu’s Paradox: Relying on Anti-Zionists to Maintain Power

Coalition politics frequently demands ideological acrobatics, but the mathematical reality facing Benjamin Netanyahu takes political cynicism to a new altitude. With parliamentary elections set for October 27, the Prime Minister finds his political survival bound to a sector of society whose spiritual guides openly question whether the State of Israel should exist at all.

The latest tremor through Israeli politics arrived courtesy of a broadcast on Channel 12 featuring nonagenarian Rabbi Dov Lando. Speaking to followers in Bnei Brak, the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah faction—which represents a third of the country's ultra-Orthodox community—suggested that Jewish people might well have fared better without a sovereign state. In his view, Zionism turned neighboring Arab populations hostile and created a secular state grounded in apostasy, leaving international or Palestinian rule as a preferable alternative.

What makes Lando’s theological skepticism so potent on the eve of an election is not merely its anti-Zionist posture, but its direct hit on the military draft controversy. The rabbi asserted that religious Zionist soldiers die in combat because their leaders teach a distorted version of religious law, arguing that military missions are often conducted for state honor rather than saving lives. This strikes at the heart of an escalating debate triggered by a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that struck down legal exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox seminary students.

The reaction from opposition figures was predictable in its outrage and strategic in its timing. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and opposition leaders like Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan seized upon the broadcast to attack Netanyahu's reliance on ultra-Orthodox support. They framed the government's continued funding of Haredi institutions as a betrayal of citizens who perform military service. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has maintained a conspicuous silence, fully aware that alienating Lando’s party, which won seven seats in 2022 under the United Torah Judaism banner, would dismantle his path to a parliamentary majority.

The paradox remains stark for Israel's governing coalition. While religious Zionists bear a heavy burden in military conflicts, the political architecture of the right relies on non-Zionist ultra-Orthodox factions that refuse conscription entirely. With United Torah Judaism quietly signalling a willingness to bargain with opposition figures if draft exemptions are not legally restored, Netanyahu is trapped in a bargain where he must protect those who reject the state in order to rule it.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com