A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words. One picture that tells the entire story. This picture was published during the IDF's Operation Breaking Dawn in Gaza, and could become the "dawn of a new day."
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In the photo, Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz embrace, with Gantz's hand on Lapid's shoulder, and Lapid's hand on Gantz's back.
For a moment, the enmity and hatred, the jealousy and the disappointment disappeared. Hope sparked among many who saw the photograph for a renewed union between Yesh Atid and Blue and White. Cooperation that would create a political faction that would garner 30 Knesset seats, and perhaps, become the first to be tapped by the president to form a government.
According to polls, Lapid has between 21 and 23 mandates and Gantz between 11 and 13. These are 32-36 mandates by voters who share similar outlooks. Yesh Atid and Blue and White voters would most likely be delighted about the two parties merging, as they were previously, when the two ran under Blue and White, led by Gantz, and received 31 seats.
But then Benjamin Netanyahu offered Gantz a rotation agreement and broke up the most important centrist partnership. So the two leaders may find it hard to overcome the past, but they must do so for the sake of the stability of the political system, or at least try. To bury the hatchets and come to their senses.
Lapid will probably want to remain prime minister, which he deserves due to the impressive political stability he is demonstrating. Gantz will take over halfway as part of a rotation agreement, and Lapid has proven that he keeps his promises.
True, Gantz has prominent Likud representatives on the list, such as Gideon Sa'ar and Ze'ev Elkin, who would be happy to return to the party in the post-Netanyahu era, but they are already part of a coalition that is led by Lapid, and will continue until after the Netanyahu era.
Moreover, mergers are necessary for the stability of the political system, in my opinion. For years I've been saying that Israel does not need so many factions. We cannot indulge ourselves by voting for the party that meets our expectations to the full.
Israel should have no more than four parties: center right, center left, ultra-Orthodox, and one Arab party. That's it. There's no need for more. If in the United States, 350 million people can choose between Democrats and Republicans, then 9.5 million Israelis will surely be able to choose between four options.
We are in the midst of Breaking Dawn. When the operation ends, our leaders will have to convene and reexamine the political path. To look at the firm stand of Israeli citizens, who are exhibiting exemplary resilience. But if we're talking about the dawn of a new day, the time has come to examine ways to prevent the need to exhibit such resilience, and to find ways to live here in peace, even if right now it seems distant and impossible.
Nechama Duek is a journalist and political commentator.
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