Surprisingly, the sun came out on Monday. Birds were chirping, people rushed off to start their day, and life – despite the fact a Center-Left government has been installed – went on. The State of Israel was not swallowed up by a black hole, nor did it face a nuclear attack. Monday proved to be "just" another day – simply without Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister.
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My 10-year-old son may not be a seasoned political pundit, but he still managed to sum the situation up acutely: On Sunday morning, he said, Netanyahu was the prime minister and on Sunday evening, Naftali Bennett was prime minister. For him, as for many Israeli children, this is the first time in their life that a prime minister is replaced. I wish we grownups could see the situation is such simplistic terms, without all the anger and anxiety.
I fully understand – and share – the sense of loss over Netanyahu's ouster. He is an exceptional leader and he gave his all for the good of the State of Israel. And now he is the head of the opposition.
We would do well to remind ourselves of a simple truth that has eluded us over the past few years: this is how democracy works. Every once in a while, a different prime minister is elected. This is why neither mourning nor celebration is warranted.
We should, however, pray. Pray that the anger tearing us from within subsides, that Israel finally enjoys some political stability, that we continue to grow, have some peace and quiet and mostly, pray that we remember that we are all brothers and sisters.
So far, the person to remind us that more than anyone, is Prime Minister-designate Yair Lapid. He managed to navigate the rough waters of political belligerence with admirable dignity. While the Right was busy with name-calling and bickering, Lapid demonstrated leadership and determination as he stitched together the coalition, all while putting his own ego aside to hand the Prime Minister's Office to Bennett on a silver platter.
Lapid's decision on Sunday – seeing the unprecedented aggressive heckling from the opposition during Bennett's induction speech – to shelve his own address in favor of a few sharp and well-directed words on the disgraceful occurrence in parliament, was awe-inspiring.
I never thought I would see the day when Yair Lapid – of all people – would inspire in me optimism and a sense of comfort. But credit where credit is due and the Likud has a lot to learn from Yesh Atid's leader ahead of its own leadership battles.
In fact, we all have a lot to learn from Lapid: you don't always have to insist to be in the center of things. Sometimes, real leadership is to quietly pull the strings behind the scenes.
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