by Dr. Limor Samimian-Darash
Abandoning the head of an ideological camp at a time when your opponents are trying to fence him in precisely because he has so forcefully stood up to them? That is more than a political move.
It's a tiny political, almost mathematical, matter. Simply move Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a little to the side and you'll have a right-wing government. We heard this during the last election campaign when people like New Hope party member Danny Dayan proudly insinuated that the formulation of a coalition government was a matter of political maneuverability on one hand and political boycotts on the other. What is nevertheless surprising and disappointing is that politicians and commentators on the Right are reaping the fruits of the boycott started by New Hope in a follow-up to the one by the Left. What is even more disturbing is the attempt to push an equation in which the "small political" concession of Netanyahu stepping aside is supposed to assure something even greater – the establishment of a coalition government – in return. In reality, though, the true equation is one of ideological and moral sacrifice in return for narrow political interests.
Let's start with the obvious. Those with the most to gain from moving Netanyahu aside are not the right-wing lawmakers now wheeling and dealing with their Knesset seats but their friends on the Left that are set to earn the most precious asset of all: an ideological victory. It is clear to all that the only way to replace the right-wing rule, which has not been defeated since 2009, is to bring down Netanyahu. There are those who see such a move as allowing for a chance to level the playing field, and there are those who hope for the dissolution of the right-wing camp, which would get caught up in the internal struggle to consolidate an alternative. Either way, the arena would be vacated to the opposite camp. Is there any other explanation for the consensus on the Left that any other candidate, including Yamina head Naftali Bennett, should be crowned Israel's leader?
Yet we must not surrender to this false equation, and not just due to the political ramifications but also as a result of the deep moral significance of such a move. Abandoning the head of an ideological camp at a time when your opponents are trying to fence him in precisely because he has so forcefully stood up to them is more than a political move. More than politics are at stake when you throw your hands up in surrender when faced with boycott tactics and political or legal persecution and when the results of a democratic election are twisted. No, this is a moral and ethical matter.
A political imbroglio, boycott, stepping aside – none of these terms from the playbook of pragmatic politics has anything to do with ideology or morals. If we resolve the imbroglio at the expense of ideology, we will be destined to remain without either a political advantage or an ideology. Our political rivals are already waiting to use this exercise on the next in line.
For over a decade, Netanyahu has not just led the Right out of the political desert; he marched it and the State of Israel toward unprecedented achievements; kick-starting the economy, peace accords, recognition of the Golan Heights, embassies in Jerusalem, a return to sovereignty discourse, standing up to Iran, and defeating a pandemic. Despite this long list of achievements, none of this seems to be enough. Just as the exodus from Egypt was not enough. Nor were the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna from heaven, or the pillars of cloud and fire. One short delay at Mt. Sinai and we run toward the golden calf. And while a momentary political catharsis is guaranteed to all those unable to stand the pressure, those who give up on basic morals for a hasty political deal could leave us out in the desert for another 40 years. And no, it's not the political desert I am worried about but the ethical and moral drought that has befallen us.
Dr. Limor Samimian-Darash
Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/moving-netanyahu-aside-and-other-lies/
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