Thank you, Naftali

Bennett failed politically, but he was a successful prime minister in the worst possible conditions. In the meantime, Netanyahu with his back to the wall - and according to a person he met recently - behaves like a haunted man. Many, and will also need without a little luck

Ben Mercury

24/06/2022

Friday, 24 June 2022, 08:00 Updated: 10:06

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Here is a random collection of headlines from recent days: Unofficial reports on the removal of Iranian intelligence chief Hussein Ta'ab, following Iran's failure to take revenge on Israel over the wave of assassinations attributed to it on Iranian soil.

At the same time, Turkey is publishing the details of the thwarted Iranian plot, including the abduction of the former Israeli ambassador and his wife who were on private vacation in the country.

Ten suspects, some Iranians and some Turks, were arrested in three hiding places in Istanbul.

At the same time, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniya are meeting in Beirut, expressing concern about the "rapprochement between Israel and Turkey."

Next: US intelligence officials confirm (Mako): Israel has escalated offensive activity in the heart of Iran and it excludes the US from most of these actions. A senior Saudi journalist close to the administration says that Saudi Arabia does not need the US to normalize with Israel and that this should happen .

Two of the leaders of the joint list explain, in their voices, that the current government is much worse than its predecessor when it comes to the Palestinian interest (Sami Abu Shehadeh and Ahmad Tibi).

To all this must be added the quietest year in the Gaza Strip since the disengagement, the halting of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the powers, the prevention of the re-establishment of the American consulate in East Jerusalem, the establishment of the "National Guard", the holding of the flagship parade Terrorism, the transformation of the IDF into the National Unit for the Treatment and War on Terror, the restoration of relations with the Democratic Party and the US administration, the deepening of relations with Egypt, the restoration of relations with Jordan, the strengthening of the Negev Conference with the Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain. This list until the end of the paper, and that without us touching on the economy (zero deficit,

frictional

unemployment).

, But Bennett and Lapid ran the corona without closing one kiosk for one minute.The right and courageous decisions have been made here in this area.

A patient was anesthetized and resuscitated, and erected back on his feet.

Bennett and Lapid (Photo: Paul, Alex Kolomoisky)

Therefore, after all of the above, I would like to open this column with a simple statement: Thank you, Naftali Bennett.

Thanks to the change government.

Thank you for bringing the country back to function.

You received an anesthetized and respirated patient, connected to an Acme machine, you reduced life in him and set him up, back, on his feet.

Unfortunately, you have not been educated to succeed in the political sphere either.

Here, you failed.

Israel is being pushed back into the spin of elections, it is not known how long this will last.

So until we know, we have to tell the truth: Naftali Bennett was a good prime minister in the worst possible conditions imaginable.

He failed politically, he built a party from hell, he chose his people with inverted tweezers and then he did not know how to protect them from the bibistic poison machine and he did not know in time what was happening to them.

But he was a good prime minister.

Disclosure: I never voted for him nor did I plan to do so.

As things stand now, he will not run for re-election (though he has not yet decided).

I simply thank him, just like that, on behalf of the citizens of Israel whose country is more important to them than its leaders.

No trust

And what has Benjamin Netanyahu been doing in recent days?

He voted in favor of MK May Golan's justice bill, according to which the government will appoint the Supreme Court justices. Again, a tweet from Meir Ettinger Yes, it should be said once again: he retweeted Meir Ettinger, who was the leader of the "Rebellion Group", the No. 1 (former?) Target of the GSS Jewish Brigade.

What else did Netanyahu do this week?

He conducted sweaty and frightened negotiations with everyone who got in his way, with the aim of bypassing the election and forming an alternative government under his leadership. "Israel does not need elections now," he was quoted as saying in closed talks. He is right. And his poison machine.

Unlike the passon he's been trying to disperse lately, he knows that elections, for him, can be the last trick.

The ultra-Orthodox are already saying out loud that this is the last time they volunteer to put themselves on the barbecue for the golden calf.

He also knows that the polls are deceptive (Maariv's Panels Politics poll published today already shows a draw between the blocs, 57-57).

So what does he do?

Which he always did.

Trying to include various, typical inclusions, in the same style that characterized him in the twilight of his last reign: negotiations with Gideon Saar, including exorbitant proposals, which were rejected with contempt. Negotiations with Bnei Gantz, through Ayelet Shaked, which was rejected with even more contempt.

Except for the ultra-Orthodox and Smutrich, there is not a single living soul left in the country who believes a single word that comes out of this man's mouth.

Correction: The ultra-Orthodox know him best and they have not believed him for a long time.

Smutrich believes him even less than the ultra-Orthodox.

Smutrich knows that he physically prevented Netanyahu from forming a government with some kind of support from the Prime Minister. Anyone who has not come to him, or to his family, is good in the eyes.

A man he met recently reports that the former prime minister is behaving like a haunted man. He is convinced that he is being listened to everywhere, and not necessarily political rivals. All of these phenomena in Netanyahu have been known in the past, but they are probably exacerbating. He knows his condition best of all. He has his back to the wall and an abyss in front of him.

Behaves like a haunted person.

Netanyahu (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel)

The WhatsApp message sent by Yair Netanyahu to his father and subordinate Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he warns of the ongoing negotiations to form an alternative government in the current Knesset, captured the full attention this week. Apparently, this is an innocent message. .

Ayelet Shaked initiated and managed it.

The alternate government was to be formed with the Bnei Gantz.

I estimate that in the end everyone would come to this wedding, except the groom, that is, except Gantz, but negotiations do not cost money and Gantz around like to see Bibi sweating. They have an open account with him. The real story is the unbearable ease with which the son changes direction The ship in the Gaia is supposed to hold his father.Readers of this column are familiar with the subject up close.The reality is far more severe than anything published so far.

Justice Minister Gideon Saar, another wanted groom for a bloody wedding with Netanyahu, also received a message this week.

Not WhatsApp, a regular message, like before.

The following is worded: "Hey, good morning, how are you? First of all, I congratulate with all my heart on the fall of the left-wing government and we will form a right-wing government headed by Netanyahu.

I will need your support in the primaries this time more than ever.

If you give me your voice, I would be happy for you to answer 1. Brigadier General MK Miri Regev loves and appreciates very much.

"

This is Miri Regev, I saw that you do not have the right to vote, code 99 (Likud functionaries who do not pay membership fees as usual, B.C.).

I would be happy to bring you back to Code 1 in order to strengthen the Likud and support me in the upcoming primaries.

If so, please answer 1 and they will call you to fill in details, thank you very much MK Miri Regev ".

Saar's deliberation is over.

Regev, by the way, enjoyed his support and backing when she joined the Likud at the time.

He approached her in the plenum and told her "Miri, of course I will support you. As always."

"It's over, Yair"

What made Bennett cut?

It was a process.

He put all his energy into keeping the government.

The motto was "With all the power, not at all costs."

Last Friday, in a closed conversation, he further expressed optimism.

He knew that the joint would not overthrow the government until the end of June, so as not to extend the Judea and Samaria regulations (if the government falls before the regulations expire, they are automatically extended). He made several calls to legal officials to understand what is expected on July 1, if the Judea and Samaria regulations are not extended.

He realized that there was no way to escape the chaos.

He hesitated, but decided not to use the residents of Judea and Samaria when Katz lived for his tenure.

The decision began to brew within him.

On Monday he made another phone call with Nir Orbach.

Call number thirty and something in recent weeks.

He understood from him that it was over.

Or this week, or next week.

He knew that the fact that Orbach was undergoing a slow but inevitable process of silencing could lead to more MKs on the right. He decided to end it in one fell swoop. Between 2 and 4 p.m., then, call the torch.

Bennett's suit came in at around a quarter to five.

"It's over, Yair," Bennett told his friend, "I want to pass the reins to you in the most orderly and thorough way possible. Just as we agreed."

Lapid, who was not prepared for this announcement, was excited.

"You are a man, Naftali, you are a full brother," he told him (according to people exposed to the content of the conversation).

From that moment until now, the prime minister has been investing himself in the process of transferring power.

He knows the importance of this process.

"There are the most sensitive security issues that need to be conveyed accurately," he told those who said this week, "I entered the position without overlap, without anything. And there was also Eviatar's issue. All this year I had to guess or find out indirectly where security issues and other sensitive and essential issues for national security are. To Yair it will not happen. The country of us all. "

The motto was "With all the power, not at all costs."

Bennett (Photo: Paul, Yoav Dodkevitz)

Reminder: When Netanyahu entered the Prime Minister's Office in 2009, his people did not bother to overlap with the replacements.

It was published at the time extensively.

It just did not interest them.

They came in the pose of those who know everything.

Olmert's political adviser Shalom Turgeman, a former Foreign Ministry official with extensive experience and international connections, was forced to shelve the binders he had prepared for the new government.

A few months later, they woke up in a panic and tried to close the gap, when it became clear that President Obama was demanding a freeze on settlements.

Sharon's former chief of staff, Adv. Dov Weisglass, was summoned to the bureau in a panic to teach Netanyahu's geniuses all the history and past summaries on this explosive issue, between governments, from the time of President Bush onwards.

Do you think anyone learned a lesson there?

On the contrary.

When Netanyahu vacated the Prime Minister's Office, 12 years later, the exact same thing: not only did he not agree to overlap with Bennett, he was not even photographed with him.

He also did not bother to get to the regular updates that the prime minister must update the head of the opposition.

The truth must be told: the state does not really interest Netanyahu.

Only Netanyahu interests Netanyahu, and Netanyahu believes that there is no state without him.

The past year has been, for him, a vacuum in the calendar.

black hole.

He now needs to re-establish the state because in his view Israel is back to exist on orange exports.

Killer Instinct

What will Bennett do?

He will decide, he tells his associates, after Monday.

Once he passes the keys to the torch he will be free to think about it.

He will remain only if he concludes that it will benefit the country.

His basic instinct signals to take a break.

The toxic combine that has been deafening on its back and forth over the past year has given it a sense of crunch from local politics.

"My only anxiety," he told one of his relatives this week, "is that business here will fall apart, that we will reach a dead end again, and hatred. It is simply inconceivable, from all directions. There will be campaigns of hatred that have not yet been seen. They are already written, from all sides. I "I ask myself what my role is in force, to prevent a disaster. If I have a role, I will try to fulfill it. If not, I will give up."

In their latest conversation, Bennett told Lapid that he would pass on to him "the most orderly overlap ever conveyed in this role."

With accurate binders and lists and a detailed description of all the most sensitive areas of responsibility and execution.

"I have had to be Sherlock Holmes all this year," he said in a closed conversation, "to put together puzzles and try to figure out what was agreed on in the Iranian issue, why they decided this way and that way. It would have been so helpful if my predecessor had helped navigate all these sensitive issues Leumi.

From next Monday, Bennett clarifies, there will be one prime minister here, his name will be Yair Lapid.

Bennett himself will be the deputy prime minister and will be available to his successor.

"Just as Yair was completely committed to my success in the job when I entered, so I was completely committed to his success. We are friends."

Bennett was asked this week how it could be that after everything Netanyahu has done to him and his family, he has announced that he will not vote in favor of the defendant's laws.

Where does he get this loser gentlemanliness from?

Bennett, what to do, think differently.

No, he said in a closed conversation this week, I would not have reached the Prime Minister's throne without Killer Instinct.

This is not about gentlemanliness, but about stateliness.

It is not politically wise to pass the defendant's laws at such a stage, it helps Netanyahu spread the false narrative that was dismissed in a judicial coup.

Netanyahu lost the election and this is how he should be won: in a democratic election process, and not in legislation or a criminal charge.

He will have to allay the fears of many Israelis about his becoming prime minister.

Torch (Photo: Flash 90, Olbia Fitoussi)

Bennett's advisers told him that his announcement that he would oppose the defendant's laws would harm him among his new supporters, center-left, but he did not regret it.

He finished it nicely, with his head held high, without giving up his principles.

There is not a single gram of remorse in it.

If there is no last-minute drama, Yair Lapid will fulfill his life's mission next week.

Not the conventional way, not the king way, but it does not really matter.

He will be the 14th Prime Minister of the State of Israel.

He will probably have about four months in office until the election.

It will be in his hands.

The poll published here today shows that Torch is capable of anchoring in office.

It is not as imaginary as it was two or three years ago.

He is currently waging a difficult battle over Gadi Izenkot against Bnei Gantz and I have no bet on the winner.

Ganz gives a fight here and will also give a fight in the election.

Lapid will have to allay the fears of many Israelis about becoming prime minister.

This is not an easy task, but it is possible.

He will also need quite a bit of luck.

He will have to avoid typical stumbles.

He will have to run an accurate campaign and make fateful decisions as to the fate of his bloc.

Should Meretz be saved, again, at the last minute?

Should you drink as many seats as possible?

How to deal with Gantz without producing internal damage?

Preferred choices over a deal

If Lapid is the big winner of the week, almost all commentators have already marked the big loser of the modern era: Ayelet Shaked.

On the face of it, that's true.

She lost her world, was left without a party, without hope (new), without a future.

Disclosure: I cherish and appreciate Shaked from the moment she entered politics, even though her views are far from my views in many areas.

She is a performer, she is a bulldozer, she is sharp and intelligent and yes, she has a right-wing ideology.

this is fine.

This week she was upset.

No, she did not scream and cry when Bennett informed her, while in Morocco, of his decision.

This is another typical pike made by the Bibist poison machine.

But she is indeed in a storm of emotions.

"We were such a good government, we did such good things for the people of Israel," she said in a closed conversation. Lost it. Everything is just yes Bibi and no Bibi, no one thinks about the country. What, we really need elections now? Is that what the state needs? Are you crazy? Why drag us now to this hell? Who is it good for? No one is good ".

Basically, there is a point in her words.

Indeed, the last thing Israel needs now is an election.

What Shaked misses is one small, elementary, simple matter: this election is still a good option from a deal with Netanyahu.

There are no personal "boycotts" or "disqualifications" here.

No one is angry with Netanyahu because of the color of his eyes, or because of an uncovered financial debt.

"We have done such good things for the people of Israel."

Shaked (Photo: Walla !, Reuven Castro)

Almost the entire political system has come to one sharp conclusion: the man is not qualified to lead a country, the man will not keep any agreement he will sign, even if they fortify the next rotation agreement with an iron dome, windbreaker and ceramic scarf, the scorpion will sting its way out and throw the fool's body He signed with him on the side of the road. He did so, he will always do so

. , Used all the most horrific means available to the coalition members in his and his followers' political and insidious arsenal, and whoever thinks he should be rewarded for it in the form of the prime minister's throne is making a bitter mistake.

I very much hope that Shaked will remain on the political map.

Although she has been the immediate suspect throughout the past year, she did not betray Naftali Bennett and she was the one who gave him the green light to form the government, having made sure with all her might that there was no other alternative.

She was a good justice minister and an equally good interior minister.

If there is a union between the right (with or without Bennett) and Gideon Saar's new hope, this could be a sane, stately and worthy alternative to the ruins of the Likud that have become Netanyahu's sect.

In a Channel 13 poll this week this union yielded 13 seats.

It's worth a try.

knife in the back

We will end with MK Reida Rinawi-Zoabi, who this week shamelessly ousted Orly Levy-Abacis as the theft of votes and the great election charlatan of the new era. Summary of previous events: She was brought to the Meretz list by Chairman Nitzan Horowitz, Favors, coexistence, sweetness and divine promise.

She was never an Islamist and represented the relatively liberal current of the Arab sector.

I had quite a few exchanges, conversations and interviews with her, before she saw the light.

Everything has already been written about the knife that stabbed Horowitz in the back, in the back of Meretz, in the back of the change camp and in the back of the hope for the integration of Israeli Arabs into the life of the State of Israel.

What highlighted the SAA this week was its vote against MK Sharan Hashakel's medical cannabis law. This is not about legalizing cannabis. In that case, one could try to understand Rinawi-Zoebi. And to the quality of their lives. I personally know many cases that beg for this assistance. This is the life enterprise of MK Hashakel.

It is a human, moral, important, required course.

It does not contradict any religious or other belief.

Crossed all possible boundaries.

Rinawi-Zoabi (Photo: Flash 90, Olbia Fitoussi)

MK Rinawi-Zoabi voted against. The law fell. She did it defiantly. Happily. She cuts her nose, to irritate her face. She crossed all possible boundaries. Needless to say, her vote was completely contrary to the position of the party that invented it, Meretz Not that I share here the grief of Meretz, who honestly earned it.

The full quarter of the glass is that following the fall of the law, Health Minister Horowitz decided to pass this law in the form of government regulations, with a similar effect. , And the sooner the better.

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