Bennett's decision to oust Netanyahu is Israel's first step to sanity

Naftali Bennett spoke like a uniter, someone who believes in bringing people together. The story of Israeli politics from now on, he explained, is not about “me, but about us."

By YAAKOV KATZ
A young girl raises an Israeli flag. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
A young girl raises an Israeli flag.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Israelis witnessed the beginning of change on Sunday night, a taste of what a national reset can look like.
There is still plenty that can go wrong – Yamina members can still jump ship until the new government is sworn in, and Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas can still get cold feet – but the disparity between the way Naftali Bennett and Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation tells the whole story.
Bennett spoke like a uniter, someone who believes in bringing people together. The story of Israeli politics from now on, he explained, is not about “me, but about us. We will restore the ‘us’ that was Israel’s secret weapon from its establishment. All parties are invited to join in this government.”
When Bennett finished, Netanyahu delivered his own address, and the difference was glaring: while Bennett’s speech was about hope, Netanyahu projected desperation and gloom.
Israel, he warned, is on the brink of disaster. He warned of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, the US administration and every other adversary Israel has in the world.
“What will this do to for Israeli deterrence? How will we look in the eyes of our enemies? What will they do in Iran or Gaza? What will they say in the corridors of the administration in Washington? This government will stand against Iran? This government supports the dangerous nuclear deal,” Netanyahu said.
It was classic Netanyahu, a repeat of what he has done for the last 12 years by ruling through fear and scaremongering, presenting to the Israeli public every step of the way a different enemy or adversary, someone or something from which only he could save them. Once, it was Hamas, then Iran, then the Obama administration, and now Hamas and Iran again.
Bennett’s speech had a different tone to it. It was pragmatic and hopeful. He laid out a path for how the country can move forward, can recalibrate, can return to its senses and go back to being an Israel that is stable, sane and optimistic.
Will Bennett and Lapid succeed? At this moment we don’t know, as a lot can still go off the rails. Netanyahu will use the coming days – until the negotiations are completed and the new government is sworn in – to do everything he can to prevent them from establishing a unity government.
But for the first time since the beginning of the last two-and-a-half years of political upheaval, Israelis have a feeling that there is an alternative. That there is another option. That things don’t have to stay the way they were.
For many Israelis, this will be hard. There is a large group of citizens who cannot imagine anyone else leading the country who is not Netanyahu. They are good people, people who need to be heard and respected. But they also need to understand that Israel is greater than any single individual.
Netanyahu is not Israel and Israel is not Netanyahu. That is what he wants everyone to think. This country, founded 73 years ago, is tough, resilient and far greater than one single person, no matter how talented he or she might be, or how long that person has been in office.
What will Bennett do now? Here is what he shouldn’t do: he shouldn’t talk. He should take a page out of the Joe Biden playbook from his first 100 days in office and get to work. He should show Israelis that he is working for them and on their behalf.
Israelis need to see that there is another way for this country to be run. We don’t have to have daily news of political upheaval and mudslinging. We can live without it. What we do need are politicians who will work on our behalf, to make Israel better, safer and more prosperous.
Sunday was a first step in that direction.


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