Unity on the Left – This was the thrust of Defense Minister Benny Gantz's prime-time appeal on Monday evening to all the parties in the bloc.
The Left cannot allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to smash us into pieces, Gantz exhorted his camp in a televised press conference.
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"This is an emergency," he said. "There is great danger that the opportunity will pass by if we remain scattered in so many factions," he said.
"I am calling on everyone who cares about Israel, to everyone who won't join Bibi, to forgo his ego and unite … Everyone who really won't join a government under Bibi. Let's meet, we'll find the way forward. We'll discover what we have in common. Let's sit down, tomorrow. I am inviting you – 8 p.m., we'll find solutions. I expect all of us to be there," Gantz said, appealing directly to Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, Telem leader Moshe Ya'alon, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz, Labor MK Itsik Shmuli, and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, former Treasury official Yaron Zelekha, and former Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah, who recently announced they were forming their own parties to run in the March 2021 election.
"Let's unite for the good of the country. Without the failures of the past, without fear, without ego. I'm ready to sacrifice a lot, as I've already proved, if it means Bibi goes. If we get rid of our egos, we get rid of Bibi. Let's unite to get rid of Bibi," he said.
For the first time, Gantz also explicitly stated he had been wrong to join a government under Netanyahu, breaking his promise to Blue and White voters.
"I was wrong. I shook hands with the man I promised to replace. I shook hands with a serial breaker of promises. I shook it because, as a soldier, Israel was at war, and it was my duty. As a real and deadly pandemic threatened us all, Netanyahu continued to divide us and incite because it served his personal interests, and helped him avoid the specter of his trial," Gantz said.
When Israel Hayom asked Gantz if he would support internal primaries to elect a leader of the center-left bloc if some of all of the parties managed to unit, Gantz replied, "We'll find a way."
When asked who might be expected to take the No. 2 slot on the Blue and White list, he responded, "The answer will come in a few days."
Yes Atid issued a response to Gantz's speech: "We will do everything we can to create partnerships that will lead to a sane, liberal government that will chance the country."
The Likud said: "While politicians are busy with politics, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brought millions of vaccines to the people of Israel and is leading Israel toward being the first country in the world to come out of the COVID crisis, reopen its economy, and get back to living its life."
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Lieberman responded: "We already had a chance to get rid of Bibi, but you [Gantz] avoided becoming a 'reserve' prime minister. The only thing you can do now for the country is announce that you aren't running in the next Knesset election."
Ya'alon, a member of the former Blue and White "cockpit," said after Gantz's speech that "Israel is in one of its darkest hours in terms of a collapse of leadership, norms, and values. This election is not about Right vs. left, but a choice between honest or corrupt; democracy or dictatorship; truth or lies. We will do everything we must to restore hope. The protests will emerge victorious!"
As Gantz was speaking to his fellow center-left leaders, Shelah was making his own announcement, in which he urged Huldai, Avi Nissankoren, and Labor leaders to consider running on a joint ticket.
"You all know me. We've worked on deals and political activity. There are no preconditions. Let's sit down, let's negotiate, we'll reach an agreement and put together a political entity that an entire camp is longing for. Then there can be other partnerships, but let's start," Shelah said.
The former Yesh Atid MK added that only if one party united the center-left would it be possible to prevent Netanyahu from forming the next government: "Only a [political] entity like that can provide an answer for hundreds of thousands of Israelis who don't have a political home. If it is formed quickly, it could reach a double-digit number of seats and shape the next government," he said.
Earlier Monday, Huldai himself also told reporters he favored political partnerships on the center-left "without ego." Huldai was asked if he was in favor of Lapid, who is holding steady in the polls, leading a center-left bloc.
"Lapid has already run five times, unsuccessfully. Other than that, I saw that people leave him – Bogie [Ya'alon] left, Shelah left," Huldai said.
