Even Bennett should be afraid of Shaked
Op-ed: The justice minister is establishing herself as the most effective executor of the conservative ideology in Israel, signaling to the Right that she is going to fulfill its wildest dreams—annexation, a new constitutional revolution, a real neo-liberal economy, etc—while winking at audiences which the current Bayit Yehudi leader is likely incapable of attracting.
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But unlike previous presentations of the duo on “Eretz Nehederet,” there seemed to be a fundamental change in the way Liat Har Lev, the actress impersonating Shaked, and the show’s writers are interpreting the justice minister and the balance of power between her and Bennett.
Previously presented as a blind, ardent fan of Bennett—in a way that wasn’t devoid of sexism—Shaked is now far from being his shadow. Even when it comes to facial expressions and physical gestures, Har Lev seems to be looking at Shaked differently: While Bennett (impersonated by Eran Zaracovitz) is still presented as an infantile person forcefully trying to be perceived as everyone’s brother, Shaked has become gloomier and tougher, with a frozen gaze and carefully measured words. “Who knows, we may even have a woman prime minister here,” the character teased her party leader.
The satirical show seems to have internalized what the political scene is still having trouble digesting as a realistic scenario: Not only is Ayelet Shaked capable of winning the race, but she may even do it sooner than expected.
The last few weeks have only reinforced her position as one of the most powerful people on the Israeli Right: From an unequivocal decision in the battle over the appointment of Supreme Court justices, through the announcement that Jewish Agency files would be reopened following “The Ancestral Sin” (a documentary about the “population dispersal” policies in the State of Israel’s first two decades) to her deep involvement in ending the IDF draft law crisis.
While Bennett challenged Benjamin Netanyahu and suffered a heavy blow in a poll, when only 6 percent of the public said he was suitable to be prime minister, Shaked was perceived as the person who had worked hard and managed to square the circle and hush the country for at least 40 more seconds.
And most importantly, she makes no mistakes. Watching interviews with Shaked is an experience that evokes empathy towards the interviewers, in light of the frustration they should be feeling. Time and again, they break into pieces in the face of her indifference towards the discussed issues.
Her style reminds me of Novak Djokovic’s game of tennis, when there wasn’t a single corner in the court from which he wasn’t capable of returning the ball to enemy territory. And even he experienced some troublesome injuries. In Shaked’s case, it’s impossible to remember the last time she had a slip of the tongue or even stammered.
For the Right, this is excellent news. Shaked is a secular woman who has already conquered a religious party and won’t have trouble moving on to a far more flexible platform, free of unenlightened rabbis and an obsolete establishment. While Bennett has been unsuccessful in breaking through the walls of Religious Zionism, and Likud’s second generation is being trampled under the party’s Bibization process, Shaked is establishing herself as the most effective executor of the conservative ideology in Israel.
She frightens the Left for the same reasons, and rightfully so. Shaked’s efficiency in the Justice Ministry is a preview of what will happen in her next positions, while in the meantime, on the other side, there isn’t a single figure to be found that even comes close to her killer instinct.
While the Left is spinning around its own tail with dull candidates and fantasies about generals, Shaked is signaling to the Right that she is going to fulfill its wildest dreams—annexation, a new constitutional revolution, a real neo-liberal economy, etc—while winking at audiences which I doubt Bennett can attract.
According to the “Eretz Nehederet” skit, the only thing Bennett is afraid of is an orthodontist. He might want to consider updating the list.
