Nancy Pelosi Must be Dreaming of Israel’s Coalition

The essence of politics is compromise. Everyone knows that, except for ideological gluttons. Those are the folks who are so obsessed with having their way they’re loathe even to think of compromise.

We’re seeing this gluttony unfold right now in the U.S. Congress. Democrats are scrambling to pass a $1 trillion bipartisan bill that would significantly upgrade the country’s decaying infrastructure while adding countless jobs. It would also boost the party’s chances in the 2022 midterms. Piece of cake, right?

Not for the gluttons.

An overheated progressive faction, led by firebrands like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Pramila Jayapal, insists on attaching a gargantuan, divisive $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill to satisfy their utopian dreams for the country. Never mind that their party holds razor-thin majorities in Congress, to the point that passing the reconciliation bill will require the votes of 99 percent of House Democrats and 100 percent of Senate Democrats. That’s a lot of unity.

The formidable Speaker Nancy Pelosi has met her match. In her frantic efforts to get the factions in her party to compromise, I wonder if she’s been thinking (or dreaming) of Israel’s “unity” coalition— you know, the one that is forcing so much compromise among ideological rivals it wasn’t supposed to last more than five minutes.

Most of the people I’ve spoken to in Israel still don’t give the coalition much of a chance. One dissenting vote, after all, can bring the whole thing down.

But even if it turns out to be temporary, I’m still in awe at this incredible human display of compromise for a higher good. It’s like hearing a brand new, amazing song for the first time. Here you have ultra-Zionists sitting next to anti-Zionists; secular next to religious; peaceniks next to hawks; socialists next to capitalists—and, somehow, after more than 100 days, no one’s killed each other. They’re still sitting at the same table.

I can’t think of any country right now that is governed by such an ultra-broad “team of rivals.” Maybe in that rarity lies its beauty.

I can’t think of any country right now that is governed by such an ultra-broad “team of rivals.” Maybe in that rarity lies its beauty.

In Israel, cynicism aside, it’s a breath of fresh air. After more than a decade of ideological gluttons from the Likud running the show, it’s refreshing to see a coalition that strives to represent the whole nation. For so long, compromise in Israeli politics was a dirty word; today it’s a holy word.

It’s refreshing to see a coalition that STRIVES TO represent the whole nation. For so long, compromise in Israeli politics was a dirty word; today it’s a holy word.

The parties are making huge efforts to put aside their differences and find important things they can agree on — like security, transportation, the economy, education and public health. They’re restraining their personal appetites to focus on the greater good. It’s as if everyone is on an ideological diet that benefits the health of the whole country.

Regardless of how long it lasts (and the threats from rebels keep coming), we can’t overlook how this miracle coalition has redeemed, however briefly, the very notion of politics. Here is one of society’s least savory sectors— the grimy world of politics—rising to the occasion to transcend its own nasty reputation. At the very least, it’s giving us a taste of the possible.

Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that for the first time in its history, Israel has a prime minister, Naftali Bennett, who wears a yamulke. Is he putting the holiness of unity ahead of the politics of ideology? Is he applying the Talmudic lessons of Shammai and Hillel on the art of dealing with disagreements?

When I interviewed Bennett on stage a few years ago at an Israeli American Council (IAC) convention, while he was a cabinet minister, my first question was, “What keeps you up at night?” Without missing a beat, he replied, “The future of the Jewish people.”

Now that he has a piece of that future in his hands, he must have concluded that there’s no hopeful future for his people without the holy idea of compromise.

If you ask Nancy Pelosi, I’m sure she’ll tell you there’s no hopeful future for her infrastructure and reconciliation bills without that same holy idea.