Will Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox allies jump ship?
Days before his deadline for composing a majority coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears abandonment by ultra-Orthodox allies or a rebellion within the Likud.
This is the second time in recent weeks that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled a diplomatic meeting at the last minute — an important, prestigious and long meeting abroad. After the sorry results of the Israeli elections in September, he canceled his regular participation in the opening discussions of the UN General Assembly, and on Oct. 15 he canceled his Oct. 19 trip to Japan. There Netanyahu was supposed to attend the Oct. 22 enthronement ceremony of the new emperor and meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Anyone who knows the Netanyahu family knows that it does not pass up such trips easily. Over the last decade, Netanyahu insisted on attending almost all UN General Assembly meetings with all the associated honors involved. But Japan was the real thing, the jewel in the crown. Alas, the enthronement of the new emperor in Japan will take place without the old emperor from Jerusalem.
