Otzma Yehudit rebel Almog Cohen abstains from vote to delay key budget bill
Far-right MK goes his own way after party attempts to remove him from Knesset Welfare Committee, says he is ‘forced to be the responsible adult in the face of childish acts’
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The far-right Otzma Yehudit party removed MK Almog Cohen from its internal WhatsApp groups on Wednesday after the lawmaker defied his party’s pledge to oppose the state budget during a committee vote on an important budget-related bill.
During a meeting of the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee on Wednesday morning, Cohen abstained from a vote to reopen the discussion of provisions of the Economic Efficiency Bill, paving the way for the bill to go to the plenum for its second and third readings.
Had he voted in favor of the revisions, the bill would have been delayed, thus increasing pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to give in to Otzma Yehudit chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s budgetary demands.
Ben Gvir has a history of threatening his coalition partners and boycotting votes to advance his political and policy goals.
Cohen’s key abstention on the Economic Efficiency Bill came less than a day after Otzma Yehudit attempted to have him replaced on the committee. Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik told lawmakers that the request was not submitted in accordance with Knesset regulations and was rejected.
“With this budget, Finance Ministry officials will cause the closure of police stations and civil defense squads and mass layoffs of police officers,” Otzma Yehudit claimed in a statement following the vote. “It is very unfortunate that MK Cohen is acting contrary to his faction’s position.”
In response, Cohen tweeted that he had been “forced to be the responsible adult in the face of childish acts that undermine the stability of the coalition and the nation.”
“My faction’s boycott and such spin will not bring me to be part of the current bickering that is harming the war effort,” he declared, calling for “immediate negotiations” to discuss the issue of the police budget.
A screenshot subsequently posted on X by Makor Rishon political correspondent Amiel Yarhi appeared to show Cohen having been removed from several chat groups belonging to the party. The lawmaker did not respond to a request for comment from The Times of Israel.
Otzma Yehudit has been voting against the coalition since mid-December, with Ben Gvir threatening not to submit to coalition discipline until cuts to his ministry are rescinded and action is taken to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Ben Gvir’s revolt forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to leave his hospital bed after surgery last week to cast a crucial vote for a budget-related bill. Likud MK Boaz Bismuth was forced to come in as well amid the seven-day Jewish mourning period for his late mother.
While Netanyahu is widely believed to be unlikely to sack Ben Gvir, associates of the prime minister last week told Channel 12 that the premier will treat his ostensible ally as a political opponent who is expected to eventually leave the coalition.
While Ben Gvir has apologized for forcing Netanyahu to show up in the plenum and has committed to providing him with an offset for future votes, he also promised to continue opposing the budget until he gets his way.
This pledge prompted coalition whip Ofir Katz to announce on Sunday that all of Otzma Yehudit’s legislation would be removed from the Knesset agenda “until further notice.”
The following day, Ben Gvir held Otzma Yehudit’s weekly faction meeting without Cohen. According to Hebrew media reports, the meeting was held in the National Security Ministry but Cohen was not informed, instead remaining behind in the Knesset while the rest of his party attended the gathering.
Asked by an online commenter why he didn’t jump ship to the ruling Likud party, Cohen tweeted that he was “not engaging in politics when our holy soldiers are dismantling the enemy.”
Asked by the Knesset Channel if he and fellow Otzma Yehudit MK Zvika Fogel planned on splitting the party and striking out on their own, Cohen replied on Monday that he was “not involved in such an event.”
According to the Ynet news site, Otzma Yehudit has opened contacts with the opposition, with its MKs initiating discussions with lawmakers belonging to the Yesh Atid and The Democrats parties to discuss coordinating how best to oppose the coalition.
A Yesh Atid party spokesman vehemently denied cooperating with Otzma Yehudit when contacted by The Times of Israel.
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