We Need a Government in Exile, Now

Before the next election, before total isolation, Israel’s opposition needs to present a united front to the world

I can’t stop thinking about what Benjamin Netanyahu told Bari Weiss in an interview aired on the 30th of November, 2022: that his favorite biblical character is King Saul.

Saul, who descended into paranoia, into anger, into madness. Saul, who, when challenged by new leadership, launched a civil war. Saul, who had to be forced out despite knowing he lost the mantle of leadership. Saul, the symbol of excess in war and failure in peace. Saul is Netanyahu’s favorite character.

One must admit it is fitting: Netanyahu was, for a while, Israel’s favorite son. He built our modern market economy, crafted the identity of Startup Nation, raised our stature to that of a digital superpower. And like Saul, he celebrated Israel’s successes as his successes.

Perhaps then, through the story of Saul, we can better understand Netanyahu’s own intentions and why he seems so willing to sacrifice the State if it means he will no longer sit on its throne. His anger at the citizens for losing their favor. His disregard for the future of Israel so long as he wins a few more weeks in the prime minister’s office in the present.

And perhaps this means we need to stand up an alternative to him, to clarify to Israelis and to the world that Netanyahu is not us, that his government no longer represents us. That a better future is possible once he is gone and that they shouldn’t give up on us yet.

It is true that Netanyahu leads a coalition legitimately elected by the citizens of the State of Israel. By winning 49.5% of the vote, a cluster of ultra-orthodox and ultra-rightwing parties won the right to appoint Netanyahu to lead that government. In normal times, this also gave them the right to steward the country until the government either serves out its days or falls by a no-confidence measure.

These past two years have been anything but normal times. Since October 7, Israel’s citizens have raised their voices loudly, repeatedly, calling for new elections. More than 70% of the public has told pollsters week after week that this government has lost their trust. Yet, despite two years of unprecedented war, despite three years of unprecedented civil strife, despite our growing isolation and the harm it threatens, the parties in government – who know they are unwanted by the public – are holding on for dear life and, most likely, will do so until they are forced out of their seats by elections held at their appointed time (if, indeed, there will be free and fair elections – a question being asked with increased frequency).

Those of us who care about the future of Israel cannot sit and wait any longer. Netanyahu’s speech on 15 September 2025, warning Israelis that Israel would need to be a super-Sparta to survive, has shocked us to our very core. Those of us who know history remember that Sparta was a failed slave-state ruled by a vicious oligarchy which has been erased by history (do you know any Spartans?). Those of us who understand the implications have reason to fear Netanyahu’s continued rule even more.

We who care about Israel, we who are committed to the dream of freedom in our ancient homeland, cannot afford to just protest any longer. There is something we can and must do: form an alternative to Netanyahu’s coalition that can credibly represent the will of the people. What in previous eras may have been called a government in exile – such as was formed by Charles De Gaulle in response to the Vichy takeover of France, or Jan Masaryk in response to the Nazi takeover of Czech. Once formed, our government in internal exile must begin the hard work of publicly and visibly preparing to fix all that Netanyahu and his government have broken.

To make this happen, we need to turn our protests and demands to the opposition parties elected in the last Knesset. We must demand they agree to a neutral framework that would unite them under one political entity: a super-party led by an individual chosen according to a trusted third-party polling process to represent the will of the majority. Whether it is led by Gadi Eizenkot, Naftali Bennett, or Yair Lapid is irrelevant so long as they all agree to elect a leader who can faithfully represent the will of the majority of Israel to Israelis and the world. We must demand that this united bloc publicly and regularly express an alternative vision to super-Sparta and its ruinous policies, a practical plan for how to put out the dumpster fire lit by Netanyahu’s runaway coalition and return to our former status as an innovative light among the nations.

Israel’s lovers abroad have a role to play, too: it is critical that the world know that the Mad King Bibi no longer has the mandate of Israel. It is crucial that our champions abroad know that his government is temporary, hijacked, disowned. That new management is on its way. That we are committed to fixing what we can from what he has broken.

By unifying our fronts – the 70% of Israelis who have consistently told pollsters that they want immediate elections, and the growing majority of lovers of Israel abroad who have grown disgusted by this government and its actions – we have a chance of saving Israel from a Spartan, autarkic, isolated future. By backing a government in exile and expressing through it our political will, we may just have a chance at saving this miracle of a State we’ve sacrificed so much to build.

The second memorial of October 7 is less than a month away; now is the time for an alternative to this blood-soaked, failed government. Now is the time for our leaders to overcome their differences and create a united front to save Israel from Saul.