Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel (New Hope) caused a small uproar on Tuesday when he announced that he would not agree to form a coalition with MK Itamar Ben Gvir but would sit in a coalition with Mansour Abbas and the Ra'am party.
A message he later circulated to his activists implied that Hendel understood that he might have gone too far regarding Ben Gvir, and stated that it was not entirely out of the question that they would sit together in the same government in the future.
''Good evening friends. A political interview is always complicated, sometimes producing headlines without depth. To the point itself, we are sitting with Ra’am in the coalition and not sitting with Ben Gvir. This is a product of a political reality that not we created," the Communications Minister stated.
"In my opinion, the correct ideological view is to create a Zionist coalition, a unity government. The understandable problem is that the haredi parties are not necessarily Zionist, as are parts of religious Zionism and certainly the Arab parties. Shamir's Likud boycotted the Kahanists, and Rabin boycotted the Arab nationalist parties. This is the path we declared before the election. [We said] no to the Joint List and no to the Kahanists."
Hendel noted, "When the Likud sought to form an alternative coalition with Yamina, they wanted to announce that Ben Gvir would be out. Maybe one day we will have to re-examine this position regarding Ben Gvir. Maybe he will go through a process. In my opinion, the Kahanist movement itself is still undermining our national resilience."
As for the partnership with the Ra’am party, Minister Hendel explained, "This is an experiment of integrating representatives of Arab society into the coalition. Although it is a product of a lack of political choice, perhaps from there will be a proper confrontation with the chaos in the Negev and the Galilee. In my view, the crime and lack of governance are the greatest danger we have today within the borders of the state."
"Anyway, it's good to have controversy, this is the tradition among our people. Unfortunately fanaticism is also a tradition (a less positive one) and I wish that we all know how to walk down the correct path. Gmar Chatima Tova to you and your families," concluded Hendel.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Yom Kippur in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)