Likud MKs must quit their divisive theatrics - editorial

The fact that Likud MK Tally Gotliv’s name keeps gracing headlines and tweets as if October 7 didn’t happen, as if other politicians have not been holding their tongues and adhering to some sense of proper political discourse in light of where the nation is right now, is both enraging and concerning. It begs our political leadership for introspection and to reexamine their responsibilities.

The quotes from the party’s faction meeting on Monday were detestable. Gotliv and fellow MK David Amsalem got into a shouting match.

Amsalem told her: “Stop interrupting; you don’t let anyone else talk.” She responded, “Do not speak to me directly. I can smell the vodka on your breath from here.”

Amsalem responded: “We will kick you out! Likud has never had an MK like this. You do this every time, enough!” 

Gotliv ended the argument by hollering: “You will not threaten me! I don’t take orders from you. Who are you anyway?”

Amsalem and Gotliv later repeated the encounter in the Knesset plenum.

Each barb was worse than the one before. And the sad thing is that each could have stopped at any point, chosen not to respond, or reacted differently.

It was embarrassing, but it was also indicative of how disconnected some of our politicians are, how disappointing it is, and how unworthy it makes them.

Theatrics matter, especially when tensions are high

Two weeks ago, Gotliv repeated conspiracy theories from the Knesset podium that warranted a clarification and a warning from the Mossad. Last week, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, along with other Likud members, actively participated in an extreme-right-wing conference that called for the resettlement of the Gaza Strip. The event was condemned by both Israelis at home and by our international allies.  

The Likud Party won the 2022 election with 30 seats and over a million votes, but that doesn’t account for recent polls that show it has shrunk back as far as the teens, with the National Unity Party set to benefit from most of those lost votes. Polls are a snapshot in time, account for error, and can’t accurately predict the future. Still, they indicate the dwindling faith in Israel’s most significant national liberal party, perhaps capturing the shifting tides of the milieu.

When the war ends, the veil will lift, elections will be set and the people will declare where they stand. Things also may shift within the Likud itself. Until that day comes, we navigate this blind.

Many senior Likud members expressed their horror at the faction meeting incident, and they did excellent and intelligent work to immediately dismiss it as an aberration. At the end of the faction meeting, Economy Minister Nir Barkat said that the “brusque outbursts are remnants of the divisive discourse from before October 7. The public deserves leadership that unites in its concerns for the people, not with this embarrassment.” He called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads the party, to “take steps to prevent such incidents in the future.” He is right; leadership needs to ensure standards are upheld.

Monday’s outburst wasn’t the first controversial allegation by Gotliv, nor the first time Amsalem has yelled from the Knesset podium.

Some would argue that theatrics by bit-part politicians don’t matter. They don’t make laws, they don’t write policy and they don’t affect the daily lives of Israel’s citizens.

But they do. Public appearances and the manner with which politicians, even those who might be considered to be sideline characters, behave matter, especially now, when tensions and emotions are high.

This party, which has been in power for three decades, needs to look at itself and recalibrate what it wants to do and who it wants to lead it. Likud has good people who are serious and dedicated. But they have been drowned by nonsense.

At a time of crisis, Likud’s leaders must do more to heal the rifts in society, when pressures from all directions have us on the brink, as was the case before October 7.