Joint List chief, MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) said on Wednesday that the opposition parliamentary faction “will not be a lifeline” for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, as the coalition weathers its most severe crisis since its establishment last June. “We are apparently heading for elections,” Odeh told the Haaretz daily. “This is a bad government; one we cannot be a part of. And another important issue needs to be taken into account: Bennett, [Justice Minister Ayelet] Shaked, and others will not agree for us to support such a government,” Odeh said.

MK Ayman Odeh during a meeting at the Communist Party branch in Yarka, an Arab-Duze village and local council in the Northern District of Israel, March 27, 2022 (Photo: Zo Haderech)

The government was thrown into turmoil Wednesday morning after coalition whip MK Idit Silman announced her intention to join the opposition. The current Israeli government now has only 60 backers in the 120-member Knesset, leaving it without a simple majority to pass legislation. In her resignation letter, Silman accused the government of “undermining Israel’s Jewish character.” “I will not abet damage to the Jewish identity of the State of Israel and the people of Israel,” wrote Silman. Silman said she is leaving the coalition because the matter of leavened foods (hametz) being allowed into hospitals on Passover being the final straw, she is ushering in a PM who likely does not care whether hospitalized people eat kosher for Passover.

Meretz MK Mossi Raz called “for the inclusion of the Joint List in the coalition to stop the danger of a corrupt ultra-nationalist government led by [Religious Zionist MKs Itamar] Ben-Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich.” However, Bennet has not shown any sign of acceptance.  The fragile coalition government includes the Islamist Ra’am party, which has yet to take a formal stance. Ra’am MK Mazen Ghanaim told The Times of Israel that early elections could be on the way. “It’s no secret that the coalition situation is bad,” said Ghanaim. “Bennett needs to enforce discipline in his own party.”