Just days after Israel marked the first anniversary of its coalition government, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced that they had “exhausted options to stabilize” their government and plan to dissolve the Knesset next week. If the vote to dissolve the government passes, the Israeli electorate will head back to the polls for the fifth time in three years.
What brought about this collapse? And as President Biden prepares to visit the country in July, what are the implications for his trip and, more broadly, for U.S.-Israel policy? In this June 23, 2022 virtual Policy Forum, Washington Institute experts David Makovsky and Dennis Ross, who have been in Israel during this tumultuous period, discuss the causes of the government collapse and the path forward for Israel and its relationship with the United States.
David Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow in The Washington Institute’s Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations, creator of the podcast Decision Points, and former senior advisor to the State Department’s special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Dennis Ross is the Institute’s counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow, and coauthor (with Mr. Makovsky) of the book Be Strong and of Good Courage: How Israel’s Most Important Leaders Shaped Its Destiny. Previously, he served as special assistant to President Obama, among numerous other senior posts spanning multiple administrations.
