The revival of the submarines affair (Case 3,000) by the leaders of the Blue and White party marks the first time that any party, other than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud and possibly Zehut under Moshe Feiglin, has managed to declare a major agenda in this election campaign.
While it's true that the claims sound a little forced and the leaks about a possible investigation sound more like spin by the State Attorney's Office, they have managed to put Netanyahu on the defensive, and given that no one has been able to do that until now, it's not a bad coup for them.
But a campaign win is far from an election victory. Netanyahu doesn't like to defend himself and when he's forced to, he prefers to attack. The press conference he delivered on Wednesday with chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Avi Dichter was designed to force Blue and White to return to a defensive position.
Netanyahu delivered a below-the-belt blow to Blue and White leader Benny Gantz. For the next few days, we'll probably be hearing a lot about submarines and the Iranians breaking into Gantz's phone. In effect, there might not be any winner or loser, but mostly, just a lot of headlines and spin.
Next week, Netanyahu is due to arrive on his home turf – Washington. There, he knows very well that he has no competitors. Gantz's presence at the AIPAC event and the speech he is scheduled to give there will only underscore the difference between them – and Gantz won't come off well.
The prime minister sees his visit to the U.S. two weeks before the election as an important reminder to the public after the hacked cell phones and the submarines that there is only one person who is head and shoulders above everyone else and who is raising Israel's profile in the world.
We can assume that U.S. President Donald Trump will also go out of his way to please his favorite world leader. By convivial hosting, he will show the people in Zion which Israeli leader he wants to visit.
