Biden Administration Gives Muted Reaction to Israeli Elections as Jewish Groups Respond

US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides on Wednesday said it was too early to speculate about the composition of Israel’s next governing coalition, as votes from Tuesday’s election continue to be counted. With 86% of the vote tallied, Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc is on track to win 65 seats, opening the door for his return to the premiership with a solid majority in the 120-seat Knesset. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Israeli government on our shared values,” Nides said.

State Department Spokesman Ned Price reiterated that it was too early to discuss a government that had not yet been formed, but said that the administration hopes that all Israeli officials will share common values with the US, including respect for minority rights.

Of particular focus for US-Israel relations is the success of Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party’s joint slate with Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party, which is set to be the third largest party in the Knesset with about 14 seats and likely to be a major constituent of the incoming coalition government.

“The Biden administration doesn’t have a good history of relations with Netanyahu, and if he takes on these far-right extremists into his government and into his cabinet, then I think we’re in for a rocky road,” former US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk told Israel’s Channel 12.

“The Israeli elections pose a serious challenge to the Biden administration: What to do with an ally government that will include senior members who are clearly beyond the pale,” Natan Sachs, Director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute told The Algemeiner. “Itamar Ben Gvir and his party members represent a brand of politics so odious and contrary to American values that the administration will have to address it. American administrations in the past have managed to separate their engagement with some foreign governments and their constituent parts — in Austria, and even in Lebanon — and they will likely need to find a similar formula with the next Israeli government.”

That concern was echoed by some American Jewish groups.

“For AJC, and for many Jews in America, Israel, and around the world, past statements of some potential members of the governing coalition raise serious concerns about issues we prioritize: pluralism, inclusion, and increased opportunities for peace and normalization,” the American Jewish Committee (AJC) said.

The co-chairs of Democratic Majority for Israel, a Democratic party affiliated pro-Israel advocacy group whose president was a strategist for Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, said that the Religious Zionism Party should not be included in a governing coalition. “We cannot help but be deeply troubled by the fact that an anti-democratic and extremist party led by Kahanist Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will gain a larger foothold in the Knesset,” they said.

B’nai B’rith International said it was “heartened by the historic turnout” of the election and that Israel “exemplifies what it means to be an engaged, participatory democracy.”

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has previously said that it has a policy of not meeting with members of Otzma Yehudit and had called the party “racist and reprehensible,” congratulated Israel on holding free and fair elections without further criticism.

The final vote count is expected to be completed on Thursday and certified on November 9th. The certified results will then be sent to Israeli President Isaac Herzog who has until November 16 to conclude consultations on who will be selected to form the new government. That person then has 28 days to form a government, which can be extended by Herzog for an additional 14 days. 

During his visit to the United States last week, Israeli President Herzog highlighted continuity in US-Israel ties in advance of the upcoming elections in both countries. “My visit…is intended to underscore that our alliance is above all politics and it transcends all governments and political disagreements. That’s how it’s always been and that’s how it shall always remain,” Herzog said, standing beside Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in the US Capitol on October 25.