Of all the political players in the arena, the most responsible one, whose leaders understand the concept of the Israeli people's national interest, is the haredim. They have been a bedrock of support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for the past decade because they understand what one of Netanyahu's most stringent critics, American diplomat Aaron David Miller, has realized.
"As politically inconvenient and excruciatingly painful as it is for his critics (myself included) to admit, in many areas he's been a very effective prime minister," Miller wrote in the Foreign Policy journal some two weeks ago.
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"He has brought relative economic stability and growth, security, and a dramatic expansion of Israel's diplomatic footprint during a time of tremendous regional and international instability," Miller wrote.
We would also like to call Blue and White leader Benny Gantz's attention to the opinion of American analyst David Goldman, who holds that Netanyahu is the only leader in the world who is trusted by the leaders of the two superpowers, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. So yes, Gantz should consider helping bolster Benjamin Netanyahu, in any way he can.
The right thing for the people of Israel would be for Gantz to go to Netanyahu if he wins the election, and ask him, "How can I help you?" He should ask the haredim about doing that. They are the ones who allowed Netanyahu and Israel a relatively quiet and prosperous past 10 years. They, much more than Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, played a part in the immense progress Israel made after the insane and bloody decade under Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Ehud Olmert.
The payoff for the Israeli people in this unique situation, which allows Israel to clip the wings of its enemies while avoiding the other wars in the region is something that could disappear if Gantz were to succeed in his mission to "replace" the prime minister. Gantz's musing that he would not reject joining a government under Netanyahu, might indicate he doesn't believe that he's going to win. According to Miller, "Netanyahu has helped to craft the dominant narrative in Israel of a divided and incompetent Palestinian national movement."
That's a peace plan, too.
