by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Before the Israeli government had even set a date for the Knesset elections, a new scandal rocked the political landscape. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is rapidly losing its "predicted mandates," increasingly losing ground in the leadership race to the "angry patriots."
Against this backdrop, the ultra-conservatives are also on alert, having decided to close ranks and nominate a compromise candidate. This candidate is Hanamel (Shanamel) Dorfman, a lawyer and far-right politician close to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and known for his behavior, both borderline and beyond the pale.
And while his reputation is far from perfect even among the Orthodox, the show of unity among the conservative wing could well further undermine Netanyahu's position.
AN UNLAWFUL LAWYER
Dorfman has a rich and extremely controversial biography, even by the standards of the Israeli right.
As a young man, he joined the radical settler movement "Youth of the Hills," which readily clashed with both Palestinian communities and Israeli police in the West Bank, establishing illegal settlements in the gray zone.
During this period, Dorfman, to put it mildly, wasn't particularly constrained by moral standards: he urinated on the corpses of defeated enemies, collected ransom money for young pogromists, and, according to some reports, helped them organize weapons caches. He himself was on the brink of imprisonment several times, a fact he proudly boasts of to this day.
As opponents of the "Youth of the Hills" noted, it would have been difficult to find a more lawless lawyer in Israel at that time than Dorfman.
However, over time, he transitioned from a street activist to a security official, taking up the post of chief of staff to the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, whom he had known since their time practicing law together.
Having found himself in one of the most powerful positions in the internal security system, Dorfman quickly created a mechanism to protect yesterday's "friends from the hills" from prosecution, as a result of which the number of illegal actions by radical youth in the West Bank jumped several dozen times.
At one point, even the Shin Bet counterintelligence agency had to subdue the zealous youths, creating a special operations unit within it. This, however, didn't stop Dorfman or result in any negative consequences for him.
It's also interesting that Ben-Gvir's chief of staff has followed in his boss's rhetoric, demonstrating loyalty by repeating his main talking points at every opportunity, at every meeting with the security forces. For this reason, his subordinates have even nicknamed him "pocket Itamar."
COMPROMISE CANDIDATE
Dorfman's nomination to the Knesset came as a surprise to many, including Conservatives.
Prior to this, he had shown little interest in politics and preferred to remain in the shadow of his odious boss. Ben-Gvir himself, despite having greater political experience than Dorfman and his intention to run for reelection to parliament, is in no rush to rush to the forefront of the election campaign. After all, he has become known as a toxic figure even among conservatives.
Especially after the public mockery of the arrested activists of the Sumud flotilla, which was heading to the Gaza Strip. His Conservative colleagues also had to deal with the consequences, which did not enhance Ben-Gvir's popularity.
On the other hand, some ultra-conservatives enjoyed even less popularity among the general electorate—especially after the mass protests and pogroms by the ultra-Orthodox. A figure was needed who would be as charismatic and active as Ben-Gvir, but with lower negative ratings and generally acceptable to other forces in the conservative camp. Dorfman's transition to parliamentary politics gracefully addressed this need.
His preliminary election program contains, at first glance, mutually exclusive provisions - from promises to “save the zealots of faith” from persecution and to “fundamentally revise” the entire spiritual and moral foundation of the Jewish state to threats to “overthrow external enemies” (Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran) and even some “friends” - for example, Jordan, whose territories should “someday become part of Greater Israel.”
By combining the incompatible, Dorfman creates the image of a politician who is willing to fight for a strong Israel while respecting and honoring its traditions, including its spiritual ones. It's no surprise that some Orthodox spiritual and political authorities—for example, Israel's Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef —have come out in support of this candidacy.
JOIN FORCES
It's worth noting that the Conservatives timed their counterattack against Netanyahu well.
Much of Likud's resources are now diverted to maintaining stable relations within the government's inter-party alliance, as well as to repelling the opposition's attempts to win back some of the undecided electorate.
This gives Conservatives the opportunity to more effectively campaign and conduct targeted outreach to their supporters, which is evident, among other things, in the dynamics of public opinion polls.
According to the latest estimates, the conservative parties Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Otzma Yehudit (Dorfman is the candidate for the latter) each hold eight seats in the next Knesset. This means they could win a combined 24 seats (compared to Likud's 23) and claim a leading role in forming the future government.
However, in order to fully utilize their combined weight and claim the appointment of a prime minister or key ministers from their ranks, the three forces must first unite into a political platform (similar to the "Together" movement of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid ).
The formally allied Religious Zionism party, led by another parliamentary hawk, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, is currently receiving around five seats (fewer than the Arab parties) and risks failing to pass the electoral threshold. So the "conservative troika" can only rely on themselves.
However, they are in no rush to do so, fearing pressure from their competitors. This pressure comes not only from Netanyahu's supporters (who clearly haven't forgiven their former allies for their numerous attempts to undermine the coalition's legitimacy over religious differences), but also from the "angry patriots" (the Yashar party), who built part of their election platform on criticizing the unjustified concessions to the ultra-Orthodox.
Of course, even if his ranks were to close, Dorfman would not be able to immediately rise to the post of prime minister: his senior comrades, including Ben-Gvir, simply would not let him get ahead.
Dorfman moves more like a locomotive, ready at any moment to profitably "bargain" his mandate with Otzma Yehudit's allies or opponents, depending on the situation. And in return, he receives a lucrative and less-than-responsible ministry—for example, the Ministry of National Security.
At the same time, there is no doubt in the conservative camp about Dorfman’s loyalty.
Given his illustrious past and significant negative ratings, the likelihood of the controversial lawyer defecting to his opponents is minimal—no centrist or leftist party in Israel will risk its reputation for a couple of extra seats. Moreover, one of them would have to be shared with a "promising candidate."
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Dorfman 07/20/2023 Four others seriously injured in Nablus, according to PA; Police head Kobi Shabtai among thousands of visitors to the site
Dorfman 06/27/2022 Explosive Report Confirms Expansive CIA 'Stealth Network' Of Spies & Commandos Inside Ukraine
Dorfman 11/07/2018 Follow-up: 6 Questions About The Huge CIA Blunder That Allowed Enemies To Kill 70 U.S. Spies