My friend was about to be inaugurated as Prime Minister of Israel. For the past year I had done everything in my power to help make that happen. Of course, I had to be there.
Disclaimer:
I like Naftali Bennett. He has a special magic that
(unfortunately) doesn’t translate through the tv screen. He has an intense
focus that soaks up everything about whatever it is that he is interested in.
When that focus is turned on you, it is as if there is no one else in the universe,
as if the sun rose for you and you alone. When Naftali looks at you and tells
you something, you believe him.
He has a unique charm that
makes you forgive him swiftly, even after doing something that made you
furious.
Naftali has a quicksilver mind,
a backbone of steel and an ability to approach things in ways that no one else
would or could. If most people think “inside the box” and many Israelis in the
Start Up Nation think “outside the box”, Naftali walks through walls. For a
year I had been reminding him that he knows he can do “the impossible” because
he already had – in his army service, in business and in politics.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine he would do THIS and create this impossible government.
During the campaign he promised not to. Specifically, that he would not in any constellation, for any title, make Yair Lapid Prime Minister. He promised, and I believed him.
During the negotiations to
build the coalition I asked him what he would do if Netanyahu, who had not
received enough mandates to create a government alone, would offer Gideon Sa’ar
to be Prime Minister in rotation. Naftali answered: “Of course I would join
that government, no question! It’s not about my position, it’s about doing the
best for Israel.” Considering the political map, there was no justification for
not creating a right-wing government – the majority of the country voted for
right wing parties. The problem was that while Gideon did receive the
offer I saw coming and Naftali did agree, Sa’ar refused. Sa’ar held hate
and distrust of Netanyahu dearer than ideology.
Bezalel Smotrich also could have
enabled a Netanyahu led government but chose being right over being smart – He
refused to join a government that needed the support of the Arab party, Ra’am
who are the political representation of the Muslim Brotherhood (the parent
organization of Hamas).
The other Arab parties in Israel’s Knesset, the “Joint Arab List” are secular
but they and Ra’am are essentially two sides of the same coin. I agree with Smotrich
that it is a dangerous and bad precedent for the government of the Jewish State
of Israel to have to count on the support of the Arab parties but is what was
created instead a better option?
With an aching heart, I asked
Naftali all the hard questions as he was considering the new coalition:
·
How will you govern without
a majority of mandates? How will you not end up being a fig-leaf for horrific
left wing, anti-Zionist policies?
·
How could you even consider
empowering the left, putting back into power parties that have not been in the
government for decades? How could you make Yair Lapid Prime Minister?!
Particularly after promising not to?
·
If you give the country
back to the left who believe it was stolen from them by the right (Israel’s
version of “deplorables”) you will be creating a new divide and new anger
between the elites, and the disenfranchised. You say you want to heal the rift
in Israeli society but what about the new rift you will be creating with this
choice?
· Who are you to choose for Israel a government the people did not vote for?
His answer:
“You are right. But the alternative is another round of elections which
would cause more division and hate. What I see is the destruction of “Bayit
Shlishi,” we will lose everything like the Nation of Israel did twice before in
our history because of hatred of brother against brother. This insanity needs
to end.”
I didn’t like that answer. To my
mind another round of elections would have been preferable. At the same time, who
am I to say that he was wrong?
One of Naftali’s key qualities is seeing things others do not, seeing things before everyone else does. Perhaps here too he was right. Perhaps this utterly unacceptable choice was the least bad choice for Israel.
Old power becomes stagnant and blind
I believe that Prime Minister of
Israel is the hardest job in the world. It takes an unusual person to want to
carry this burden and among the unusual, Benjamin Netanyahu is in a category of
his own. Like Winston Churchill, Netanyahu has become a global icon – synonymous
with the Jewish State but also a symbol of the power of capitalism, hard work
and individualism to raise even the weakest to international prominence. Reason
enough to cause many in Israel and abroad to both love and hate him.
In a world not fond of living
Jews, a world that is racing full speed ahead to a new global, progressive,
socialist ideology, a man who embodies Jewish tribalism and the potency of
capitalism is very dangerous.
A large portion of the “insanity”
Naftali saw was destructive fires of incitement (much of it funded or inspired
by foreign powers) created to fuel the battle between ideologies – individual
sovereignty and nationalism vs socialist ideology that sings the tune of
“equity, diversity and inclusion.”
Just to clarify – equity is equal outcome, not equal opportunity. Diversity
does not include diversity of ideas, only diversity of skin color and gender,
and inclusion somehow never includes Jews.
Old power attains it’s status by
being strong and good and yet, it is a law of nature that over time, it becomes
blind. New power is necessary to reinvigorate a stagnant system. We all
instinctively know that there is logic and value to term limits for
politicians. But how do you know where to draw the line?
Israel’s Prime Minister is tasked with holding off the constant existential
threat knocking at our doors. His (or her) choices have immediate and dramatic
consequences. With lives at stake, it is understandable that many citizens
would feel hesitant to replace the experienced with the inexperienced. Israel
benefited from experienced leadership but also suffered from stagnation caused
by the blindness of politicians used to being in power and forgetting that
their job is to serve the people and not themselves. Israeli society is full of
serious issues that were not dealt with because they were too difficult or not
immediately pressing but disastrous in the long term (for example the violence
in Arab-Israeli society) as well as systems the State needs to survive but have
become rotten to the core (like the police force).
Perhaps, for the survival of our society, it was necessary to create turbulence in the stagnant water, to bring to light the problems that old power refused to see. Perhaps.
Trusting new power
Stepping into a role previously held
by an icon is terribly difficult, even in the best of conditions. Historically,
new Israeli Prime Ministers have not done a good job (including Netanyahu in
his first years), simply because the job is so difficult. Naftali has had many
years of experience in government but nothing is comparable to being PM and the
circumstances make success near impossible.
But Naftali is not a man to be written off or dismissed.
Naftali’s key to success is also his greatest obstacle. He doesn’t play by the rules that constrict average people – which is how he accomplished the “impossible” many times in the past. His decisions gained him his new role but it also created problems that will impact Israeli society in the years to come:
1.
Trusting the integrity
of the election process – mandates and ideology
Society is held together based on the majority of the people agreeing to
adhere to the same social rules. Naftali became Prime Minister by breaking the
rules of the political “game” that dictate that the government is led by the
party that has the majority of mandates and that the coalition is formed by
parties who hold compatible ideologies.
When any size party can take over the leadership of the nation and the
coalition is not formed on the basis of ideological compatibility, the voting
process becomes devoid of meaning.
We are already seeing the results of a government headed by a small party that
lacks political clout. Naftali’s Yamina Party needs the agreement of the
coalition in order achieve anything and there are few issues parties with
apposing ideologies can agree on. Left wing agendas are being pushed to the
foreground and even if actions are prevented, the simple discussion of
anti-Zionist ideas are damaging – if Israeli (leftist) Ministers of Knesset
revive the “Two State Solution”, why shouldn’t world leaders follow suit? If
Israeli MK’s support America’s Iran Deal, why shouldn’t the Biden
Administration pave the way to a nuclear Iran?
2.
Trusting that the Prime
Minister has the best interests of the People at heart
Israel is the Jewish homeland and the PM is the manager of our home. His
role has psychological weight that an average politician does not carry - like
that of a father who is supposed to lead his family and keep them safe. For the
“home” to run smoothly, it is imperative that the People trust that the PM and
believe that he is doing his best for all of us.
People expect politicians to break promises and even outright lie - but not on
ideological issues. Not when they look you in the eye and promise to never,
under any circumstances do a very specific thing. Naftali Bennett made the same
promise over and over, in person and on camera to the entire nation, not to put
the left in power and specifically not to make Yair Lapid Prime Minister. And
then he turned around and did exactly that.
When such a fundamental promise to his electorate was so blatantly broken, how can
anyone, on the left or right, trust other things that are said or promised?
Trust needs to be rebuilt in order to heal these chasms, to protect Israel now and in the future. Thus far Naftali has not taken action to address these problems. I hope he will. They will not go away on their own and it is better late than never.
The Naftali I know
I know a man who sees things differently than most people. Who analyzes swiftly and is adamant about his decisions even and perhaps especially when they spell difficulty ahead. The man I know works harder, longer hours and more intensely than everyone else around him. The man I know doesn’t care about his wealth or believe that power makes him better than others, only that power helps him achieve for others.
The Naftali I know sees and cares deeply about making sure the centuries old Jewish story last centuries into the future. The man I know sees himself as someone who can stand in the gap and shoulder an unbearable burden to make sure the chain of our People remains unbroken.
The man I know has the heart and courage of a lion. I pray he be granted the wisdom and strength to steer away from the bad and toward the good. The man I know is a task-oriented, high-speed bulldozer who often focuses so intently on the tasks at hand that he overlooks the people left in his wake. The psychological implications of neglected feelings can create resentment, mistrust and lack of cooperation that could, eventually, stop even a bulldozer. I pray he will accept the help of people close to him to smooth the path before him, to avoid difficulties that don’t need to occur.
The path ahead is difficult enough without adding extra challenges.
Conclusion:
Am I happy that my friend became Prime Minister? Absolutely.
At the same time, I am absolutely horrified by the way it happened and the problems
it is and will create in our society for the years to come (detailed above). I
am angry that my friend chose to enable Yair Lapid to become Prime Minister. I
am frightened by the ramifications of the agendas being promoted by his
coalition partners. I am frightened for the future of Israel.
And with all that, I know that Naftali Bennett is not a man to be dismissed or written off. Even, maybe especially when things seem the most horrible.
It’s complicated. But there is
always hope. And miracles.
