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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s announcement on Monday that the coalition government, formed just over a year ago, will dissolve was hardly a surprise to observers who have watched recent defections from the governing coalition in recent weeks.
But the announcement comes just weeks before President Joe Biden is set to visit the country, as part of a trip that will also include a visit to Saudi Arabia. Biden will now be met at Ben Gurion Airport by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who will step in as prime minister until the country goes to elections this fall. We spoke to political observers inside and outside of Israel on what the dissolution of the government means for the future of U.S.-Israel relations, efforts for Israel to grow its alliances in the region and growing tensions with Iran. More below on what to expect in the months ahead.
Stateside, it’s primary day in Virginia and Washington, D.C., and the day of the Alabama runoffs. More below on what races we’re following today.
United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-affiliated super PAC that launched in December, raised nearly $4.2 million last month, bringing its total fundraising to $22 million in its effort to bolster pro-Israel candidates ahead of the November midterms.
Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus and hedge fund manager Paul Singer each donated $1 million in May. Real estate investor Michael Hackman contributed $250,000.
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Israeli political shake-up sends country to fall elections

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, left, speaks during a joint statement with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, June 20, 2022.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s announcement on Monday that the government will dissolve and head for new elections caught few observers off guard, following weeks of political uncertainty amid a spate of defections that left Bennett’s coalition government in the minority. “I don’t think this news should come as a real surprise to people who’ve been paying attention, because once you started having these defections, anything could have blown it apart,” Susie Gelman, board chair of the Israel Policy Forum, told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod.
Strategic move: Rob Satloff, executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, added that Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid — who will take over as prime minister until a new government is formed — likely decided it would be preferable to dissolve the coalition on their own terms and organize elections at a time of their choosing rather than “continue the water torture” of a continually eroding coalition. Bennett may have determined that it was preferable for him not to be prime minister at the time of the coming election, allowing him to focus on reinforcing his support among his base, while Lapid will now have the opportunity to prove himself capable of leading the country, Satloff said.
The weight: The coalition collapsed under “the sheer weight of contradictions and anomalies inherent within it,” explained Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Given the odds arrayed against it, Miller said that the coalition had “fared remarkably well” and “lasted longer than many would have imagined.” Miller called the government’s collapse “a bad sign” for the long-term future of U.S.-Israel relations and Israel’s relationship with the U.S. Jewish community, which he said had improved overall under Bennett. He said the situation could turn positive if Lapid manages to form a new, centrist or center-left coalition without some of the further right and religious forces in the current government.
Elections x 2: With elections expected at the end of October, dynamics could be shaped in part by the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections in November, David Makovsky, the Ziegler distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute, said. Should Republicans retake Congress, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is eyeing a return to the premiership, might take a more partisan line. If the Israeli elections take place before the midterms, Netanyahu might “play it more safe.”