Editorial |
Gantz, Don't Wait: Leave Netanyahu's Government Now
Benny Gantz, the chairman of National Unity party, issued Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an ultimatum Saturday night that contained six conditions which, if they are not met, will drive Gantz and his party to quit the government June 8. Several minutes after Gantz's press conference, Netanyahu gave his answer, which was "no."
In his inflammatory and populist language, the prime minister called Gantz's demands "laundered words whose meaning is clear: the end of the war and a defeat for Israel."
Netanyahu's response was in equal parts forthright and insulting. From the perspective of the prime minister and his supporters, Gantz's public statements, his strategy, and his threats are leading Israel to defeat at the hands of Hamas. It is Gantz, not the failed prime minister, who is responsible for the greatest disaster in the history of Israel and for a war whose main purpose is keeping Netanyahu in power.
Netanyahu's shamelessness and the activation of his poison machine come as no surprise to anyone. The public is already familiar with the venom it spreads whenever someone dares to criticize the supreme ruler. Surprisingly, Gantz again and again chose not to exit this toxic, destructive government and continued to provide Netanyahu with a way to escape the worst consequences of his own actions.
Gantz evidently believes that the plan he has presented will enable him to leave the government without doing his party any electoral harm because he has offered the prime minister one last opportunity to change his ways. But the reality is simpler: Netanyahu will not change his ways, and the public knows it.
All the tactical games, as politically sophisticated as they might be, are pointless. They are more suitable for a wretched manipulator like Netanyahu, whose essence is falsely representing himself in ways that play to public opinion instead of working for the national interest, whatever the personal political cost. This explains in part the terrible situation that Israel has found itself in.
There is no reason to deny that the power of the extreme right parties will grow after Gantz leaves. On Sunday, Bezalel Smotrich said, "If Hezbollah does not respond to the ultimatum we issue, the Israel Defense Forces needs to take control of South Lebanon." As for Itamar Ben-Gvir, there is no reason to enter into his form of madness.
However, Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot and the National Unity Party have become a political bulletproof shield that protects Netanyhau from the worst predations of the far right while enabling him to preserve his destructive rule, which is leading the State of Israel into the abyss.
Therefore, in response to Netanyahu's dismissive response, Gantz must announce that he is leaving now instead of waiting until June 8. The time has come for Netanyahu and his friends to face the fanatics of the extreme right on their own. Gantz and the rest of the opposition need to now join in a popular protest, which is what is needed to bring down this government and go to elections.
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