MembersIsrael’s New Government Has Courage, But is That Enough?

What the new “government of change” wants to implement in Israel is not exactly popular. For this reason, the controversial Bennett-Lapid alliance has been heavily criticized, especially from the ranks of the Right. The previous governments, especially the last Likud government under Benjamin Netanyahu, already presented, debated and then rejected all these policies.

And let’s not forget that for the first time an Arab party is part of the coalition. The usual prejudices still apply in that many, if not most Jews have difficulty believing Arabs can be fully loyal to the State of Israel. But after finally passing a state budget following much criticism and wrangling with Arab partners, the government is now marching toward new goals. These are also unpopular, and are agenda items that previous governments did their best to postpone.

For instance, who determines what is kosher? Should that be solely in the hands of the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate? Minister of Religion Matan Kahana (who is himself a religious Jew) wants to see the kosher certification process come under closer government supervision. It...