Israel: Future opposition parties vow to contend ‘extreme and dark’ govt

Members of Israel’s likely future opposition bloc met on Sunday and agreed to work together against Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming government.

The heads of the expected opposite faction, led by outgoing prime minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid faction, met to “plan and organize” their efforts to work against “the extreme and dark” incoming government, the party said in a statement.

All the opposition party leaders “committed to working together toward the goal of returning to power and continuing change,” the statement added.

The Arab coalition Hadash-Ta’al also took part in the meeting, despite not being a part of the outgoing government.

Netanyahu’s return to power alongside one of the most right-wing coalitions in Israel’s history is spurring concern among many in and outside of Israel. 

Last week, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog told members of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party that the "whole world is worried" about far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir. 

Herzog was heard in a “hot mic” moment saying he was concerned about Ben-Gvir's positions on certain issues, specifically the Temple Mount, saying: “There’s one issue I didn’t talk about because I don’t want to shame anyone. You’re going to have a problem with the Temple Mount.”

“You have a partner that the whole world around us is worried about,” he said.

In the United States, the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America – the Union for Reform Judaism – said it was "profoundly concerned" about the promises of cabinet positions for the "ultra-nationalist" party leaders, specifically pointing to Ben-Gvir and Religious Zionism head Bezalel Smotrich.

"Their platforms and past actions indicate that they would curtail the authority of Israel’s Supreme Court and inhibit the rights of Israeli Arabs, Palestinians, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and large segments of Jews who are non-Orthodox,” the group said.