With Benny Gantz and Moshe Ya'alon officially entering politics, it seems their fellow former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi may also throw his hat into the ring. Of all the parties courting Ashkenazi, he has said in closed talks with confidantes and political figures that, should he run for election, his preferred option would be the Likud party and not Yesh Atid or one of the many new parties to enter the political fray.
Unlike so many others, Ashkenazi does not want to become party chairman. Should he enter politics, he would prefer to start off small. In addition to questions surrounding his viability as a candidate, Ashkenazi is threatened by the possibility of a nightmare scenario that sees secret recordings unearthed and other conspiracies made public becoming reality. Although he was not found guilty in the case, the Harpaz affair, involving an alleged plot by Lt. Col. (res.) Boaz Harpaz to sabotage the appointment of then-GOC Southern Command Yoav Gallant as Ashkenazi's successor as the chief of staff, tarnished his reputation. It may be that the mark left by the affair has faded altogether.
Netanyahu has wanted Ashkenazi in Likud for some time and was willing to shorten the mandatory cooling-off period senior IDF officers are normally required to wait before entering politics to this end. Should Ashkenazi join Likud, the big loser will be Gallant, who has never forgiven Ashkenazi for what he did to him. The Harpaz affair, after all, started off as the Gallant affair, as it was aimed at keeping Gallant from succeeding Ashkenazi as chief of staff. Although the case has since been closed, as Gallant sees it, Ashkenazi is responsible for turning Harpaz against him. As Gallant is already in the process of joining the Likud, the two will likely find themselves together in the faction room and possibly the cabinet. Absent Netanyahu's intervention, a feud will likely develop between these former generals the likes of which the party has not known for years.
Meanwhile, former Defense Minister and IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon on Wednesday officially registered his own political party, Telem, which is a Hebrew acronym for "National Statesmanlike Movement." The acronym was previously used for another political party, the Movement for National Renewal, founded by Moshe Dayan in 1981.
