School. That's where Benjamin Netanyahu took Benny Gantz this past year. He rattled and shook him, strung him along, duped and promised and deceived him, without so much as batting an eye. An experienced and shameless politician fighting and clawing to stay in power, against a political novice who insisted on biding an agreement that Netanyahu had no intention of honoring from the outset. A cunning, battle-hardened fox, willing to use any spin at his disposal to twist and befuddle the only man in politics capable of actually believing his promises.
What happened to Gantz would never have happened to Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman's sense of smell, understanding of the political game and familiarity with his opponent wouldn't have allowed him to believe one word out of the prime minister's mouth. Lieberman, similar to Netanyahu, is a polished and skilled politician. And this experience, particularly against someone as formidable as Netanyahu, is exceedingly significant.
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Politics is a profession, it's a job. It is playing a game with unique rules, a format that no reality TV show can simulate. There's no room for naiveté and sappy sentimentality. It is violent and crude and frustrating; it sharpens the mind, but sullies the soul.
Too many people enter politics without truly understanding what it is. They'll say, "Yes, it's dirty, everyone is a liar," but they have no idea how much strength and agility is required to survive in such a business. They don't realize how much impulsion is involved on a daily basis. They arrive from different worlds – business, military, civic organizations, academia – and are dropped into a cauldron that is a more than a few degrees too hot for them.
The moment Benny Gantz began his flirtations with Netanyahu, the outcome was inevitable. Netanyahu is a hunter who smells blood from a mile away; Gantz was easy prey. What ensued was more suitable for National Geographic than for political pundits. The former would have immediately realized this wasn't a negotiation over territory, rather a deadly encounter between a leopard and hapless fawn.
No normal person, sitting opposite the prime minister, would believe he was lying shamelessly. That he was capable of crying "Bibi or Ahmed Tibi" one minute and then a few minutes later embrace a member of the Islamic Movement in Israel. That from Netanyahu's perspective, everything is fair, nothing is out of bounds.
The time has come, therefore, for us to stop celebrating every single candidate who boasts of being a political outsider. Maybe it's nice that they're only doing what they believe is right and honorable, but it doesn't get us anywhere. Anyone who wants to be prime minister, anyone who steps up to face Netanyahu, must have experience, understand the game and possess particularly sharp political instincts. A worldview and vision? Those are certainly important. But barring the ability to assimilate to the political arena and operate freely, no candidate has a chance of surviving.
You don't want to vote for professional politicians? No problem. Just don't complain later that Netanyahu has fooled everyone again. He's fine with it – he's a politician.
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