"Last Thursday it was pretty clear it was over, that we were heading for another election," Knesset Member Yehiel Tropper told Israel Hayom, recounting the hectic days leading up to the Likud and Blue and White's agreement on a unity government.
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz "told us negotiations failed, that there was no going back and the election headquarters was told to get in gear again.
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"That wasn't an easy decision to make, especially after Blue and White essentially splintered over the unity talks and our public image suffered a serious blow. The price we would have paid for failing [to reach a unity deal] would have been very heavy, but there was a red line we just wouldn't cross."
Blue and White began its way as a faction comprising Gantz's Israel Resilience Party, Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid and Telem, under Moshe Ya'alon. But as one of Blue and White's capmaing promises was that it would not partner with Likud under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a corruption indictment, Lapid and Ya'alon refused to enter unity talks and eventually dissolved the centrist faction.
Gantz them petition the Knesset's Arrangements Committee, which oversees parliament's operations until such time as all regular Knesset committees are formed, and asked – and was granted the permission – to continue using the Blue and White name.
Tropper, one of Gantz's closes confidants, would say exactly what that red line was, but other party insiders said it was Likud's demand to pass an exception clause that would prevent the High Court of Justice from hearing petitions seeking to bar Netanyahu from serving as prime minister.
"We already had a 'there's no choice but to call another elections' speech ready when Netanyahu's people hinted they were willing to back down," he said.
Tropper, 41, is number six on Israel Resilience's Knesset slate. A veteran of the IDF's elite Duvdevan Unit, a special force unit that specializes in undercover urban warfare operations, he was a social worker and an education before he entered politics.
That actually happened in 2013, when he placed 23rd on the Labor party's slate. But Labor won only 15 seats in that year's elections and Tropper was subsequently appointed as an adviser to then-Education Minister Shai Piron – a Yesh Atid lawmaker
In the build-up to the April 2019 elections, he joined Israel Resilience and placed 12 on Blue and White's Knesset slate.
Commenting on the split Blue and White experienced, Tropper said, "There is an attempt to present a simplistic division as if being part of the [unity] government means you're against democracy and sitting gin the opposition means you support it. But you can hold democratic views and enter a unity government.
"I respect opponents like Yair Lapid or Ofer Shelah, I just expect them not to make a dichotomous division. I don't have to apologize – it's not that I don't care as much as they do about democracy or that they want to tear society apart. We each made our choice – they chose a fourth election."
Tropper met Gantz, the previous IDF chief of staff, five years ago and the two bonded over the notion that what Israel needs is a national unity government.
"Most people think that the deal is something of a 'reconciliation cabinet,' but they don't know where that came from. He [Gantz] has been thinking about that for years. It all comes from his heart."
Q: Blue and White's election campaign didn't exactly scream "unity."
"If it were only up to us [Israel Resilience], it would have been different but sometimes it is difficult to translate worldviews into political tools," he said.
It may be difficult, but Tropper manages just the same. Throughout the interview he is careful to use the plural form, to stress the fact that all parties are in these together and mostly to raise the level of discussion from personal interests to aspirations reflecting values.
Q: Maybe the value at hand doesn't fit the circumstances?
"We show that in taking the principled route is also possible. Mockery and cynicism were there from the get-go, but Gantz is the first man – after a decade with – to have a date in which he will become prime minister; the first to take major portfolios and control of power centers. The fact that it is impossible to pass a law without Benny Gantz spells political power."
Under the coalition deal, Blue and White and Likud will rotate the Defense and Foreign Affairs portfolios. Blue and White will control the Justice, Immigration and Absorption, Culture and Sports, Communications, Agriculture, Strategic Affairs, Tourism, Social Equality, and Diaspora Affairs portfolios, while partner Labor will receive the Economy and Welfare portfolios.
Likud will receive the Finance, Public Security, Transportation, Housing, Education, Environmental Protection, Energy, and Jerusalem Affairs portfolios.
Ultra-Orthodox Likud partners United Torah Judaism and Shas were meant to control the Health and Interior portfolios respectively, but UTJ has since relinquished it in favor of the Housing portfolio. It is unclear which portfolios the national-religious Yamina faction will receive.
According to Tropper, Gantz when about securing the division of ministries "according to our principles, meaning first and foremost looking out for the good of the public. We also excluded [from the deal] forceful language because that's not our way. We're all tough individuals with firm positions, but we all know that to vanquish today is to be vanquished tomorrow. It's not an easy thing to admit, because people in Blue and White's camp have for years been feeling like the other side [the Right] has been clobbering them for 10 years."
Q: Which article in the unity deal are you most uncomfortable with?
"The size of the government," he said, referring to the fact that the Netanyahu-Gantz cabinet comprises 36 ministers and 18 deputy ministers.
"We wanted a narrower government and Benny fought for it as much as he could. We won't man all the positions. Article 12 of the deal details how the balance of power will be maintained in case one party decided not to man all positions – we'll either have a double vote or be offset."
While a broad government is a burden on the taxpayers, "Holding another election would have been far more expensive. We're talking about millions versus billions of shekels," Tropper stated.
Q: Article 30 states that unless the budget is passed by an agreed-upon date, the party responsible for its failure will be held responsible and the premiership rotation will be carried out in a manner that will trigger a general election. That means Netanyahu could be prime minister until January 2021, then call an election and potentially win.
"It's not for nothing that the deal states that the budget will only be in effect for two years because a budget is a tool of no-confidence [in the government]. This is why there is a budget bill in the works for the first period of Gantz's term, so that he cannot be toppled.
"Whoever dissolved the Knesset – the other party head automatically becomes prime minister. That's the position from which we will launch the election campaign."
Q: So in 18 months, Netanyahu can topple the government – before Gantz takes office when it is clear that Blue and White doesn't have electoral power.
"You have to choose whether to live on suspicions and paranoias or be pragmatic, do the maximum to secure the unity deal, and hope for the best. If you read the deals looking for the holes in it – you'll find them. But a leader has to look at what's best for Israel.
"I think the public won't forgive anyone who would trigger another election."
Q: Is there a scenario where Netanyahu begins his term, leaves to handle his legal issues with Gantz in office, bit six months before the next election he will come back, resuming his term with full political powers?
"No. Even before the agreement is approved, we will pass legislation that will enshrine a situation where, if one of them needs to take a leave of absence, it will be for health reasons only."
'I'm a radical centrist'
Q: Through three election campaigns, you said you would fight for control of the Judicial Appointments Committee, and at the end of the day it's Netanyahu – himself on trial – who can veto judicial nominations.
"The Judicial Appointments Committee comprises nine members. To appoint a judge to the Supreme Court, you need a majority of seven out of nine. There are three Supreme Court justices on the committee, Avi Nissenkorn, who is one of ours [a Blue and White lawmaker], and Zvi Hauser," he said.
Hauser, together with MK Yoaz Hendel, was elected to the Knesset as part of the Blue and White ticket, but the two have since formed an independent faction named Derech Eretz, which operates under the auspices of Blue and White.
Tropper dismisses the rumors that Hauser, a former cabinet secretary, will be Netanyahu's "spy" on the committee, saying, "I'm familiar with that theory, but Hauser is a man who stands up for his opinions. This committee has always gone about its business in a quid pro quo manner and the entire commotion was about keeping this model. We have to take things in proportion."
Q: Any thoughts about Yamina entering the government?
"That's outside my purview, but I'll be surprised if a party that talks about unity so much will end up outside" the coalition.
Q: How will you vote on the issue of annexing the Jordan Valley?
"In principle, I think [Israeli] law should be applied in the Valley, but we must first understand what this move means. We signed [a unity deal stipulating] that any such move cannot undermine existing peace deals."
Q: What were the Likud's ideological sticking points?
"Sovereignty and the Judicial Appointments Committee. Some would argue that has nothing to do with ideology, but I respect ideological rivals."
Q: Was there any mention of settlement construction?
"We agreed that for the first six months this will be a national emergency government that focuses on the coronavirus and [the economy's rehabilitation] until we draft the basic guidelines."
Q: How do you define yourself politically?
"Politically, I lean right from the center, and socially I lean left from the center. I'm an extreme centrist."
Q: The political center defines itself by the margins.
"No. Part of Blue and White's ideology to express the voice of the Israeli center."
Q: But the reality is that the Left imploded and the Right has become more radical. That's not ideology – that's a compromise.
"A dialogue based on compromises is an ideological position. When it becomes paralysis I despise it. But sometimes it creates the best response."
Q: Which ministry would you like to head?
"That will be discussed only after everything else is approve," Tropper stressed. "But it will be something social. That's my world."
Q: Will Blue and White exist come the next elections?
"I've been hearing people eulogize us for a year but we're here to stay. We're here to do right by Israeli society, not build a career."
Q: Why didn't you support a transitional government from outside the coalition?
"Israel can't afford a transitional government. We have been muddling through without a budget for 18 months, with limited capacity in terms of appointments and decision-making. That's even worse during a crisis,
"Politically speaking, where's the logic in giving a free gift to a government we oppose? An absolute majority of Blue and White voters want a unity government and an absolute majority of Israeli citizens want a unity government."
Q: Maybe this reflects despair.
"It's not in our DNA to be desperate," he states. "The public is baffled by its leaders' [conduct] over the past year and a half. Supporting unity expresses hope.
"Holding a fourth election during the corona crisis is telling the public that while they are fighting for their livelihood, we'll keep up the mudslinging. That's irresponsible and that's not leadership. Luckily, Benny is made from different stuff.
"There were those who told us, 'Just let Netanyahu crash and burn over the coronavirus.' But that's not our way," he said.
Q: Do you believe Netanyahu?
Tropper paused for a long time then said, "I usually steer clear from personal questions and definitely do that now. There's shared responsibility to consider."
