Who stands in the way of Israel’s Shaked premiership?

Ayelet Shaked, Minister of Juustice, when in Habayit Hayuhudi

Ben Caspit writes in Al Monitor, “She was the wunderkind of Israeli politics. Just on the other side of 40, she was already being tagged as a future female prime minister, the second in Israel’s history. Ayelet Shaked, who served as Israel’s justice minister for the past four years, was sharp as a knife. She shook up Israel’s judiciary, moving it sharply to the right without paying a public or political price.”

“Shaked melted the hearts of her ideological enemies, and successfully maneuvered two chief justices of the Supreme Court — the incumbent Esther Hayut and her predecessor Miriam Naor. Her photo graced the covers of dozens of magazines, websites and newspapers. She became a fashion icon and her path to the top of Israel’s politics appeared assured. Almost without anyone noticing, in her popularity she overtook her veteran partner and leader of their joint party, Naftali Bennett. When the two decided in December 2018 to break away from HaBayit HaYehudi, they formed the New Right party and led it as co-chairs. Contrary to their positioning in HaBayit HaYehudi, Bennett was no longer first, with Shaked second. Both were in the pilot’s seat and the sky seemed the limit.”

“This all came crashing down on April 9, when the New Right failed to get sufficient votes to make it into the Knesset. Shaked, dragged by Bennett into the breakup with HaBayit HaYehudi, became an overnight has-been. On June 2, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Bennett and Shaked from his transitional government, in which Bennett served as education minister. Netanyahu wanted to neutralize the threat posed by this duo ahead of the Sept. 17 elections. He sought to ensure that if the two vie once again for the support of the right-wing electorate, they would not do so from their ministerial perches.” (more…)