Israeli politics have often had their most dramatic moments during the Jewish Shabbat or because of it. In the early 2000s, the Israel Electric Company's massive logistical operation to transport a turbine component during Shabbat almost brought an end to the Barak government; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Coalition was teetering on collapse several years ago when construction works were carried out on rail lines during Shabbat; and the list goes on and on. The saga that ended with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant being fired also happened on Shabbat, and, despite what you may think, the Jewish sacred day played a major role in the ultimate outcome.
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It was one thing for Gallant to come out against Netanyahu in his speech, but what had the prime minister fuming was the way he did it. The prime minister in private conversations went ballistic. "He convenes a press conference when I am still [in London] observing Shabbat and cannot respond?", Netanyahu lamented, referring to the practice of Israeli officials generally avoiding any statements during Shabbat, and Gallant took advantage of the fact that Israel was two hours ahead of the UK, hence already past Shabbat.
The press conference was part of the rapid deterioration in their relationship. Netanyahu had already lost faith in his defense minister during the preceding days. People in Netanyahu's orbit note several occasions where the relations began to fray. The fact of the matter is that Gallant's claim that he waited for his address in coordination with Netanyahu turned out to be false. On Thursday, the two agreed that Gallant would wait but he ultimately reneged on this and took advantage of Netanyahu being abroad to deliver his address, catching the prime minister off guard.
Netanyahu did not contest Gallant's concerns about the impact the ongoing judicial reform crisis has on the military. He had heard the same from the IDF chief of staff and other security officials. Had Gallant only expressed this opinion in his speech Netanyahu would have waited to see how the minister voted on the reform in the Knesset. Gallant had been sent the message that if he were to vote against the bills or even abstain or fail to show up to the vote, he would be fired. But the crisis of trust between them brought an end to their relationship, culminating in the termination letter before the Knesset plenum called a vote.
Netanyahu likes to "kill" threats when they are still small. The list of those who were opposed to moving forward with the reform had been going by the day. It started with Likud MK David Bittan and continued to various others, ultimately reaching Gallant. While Bittan and others didn't say they would vote against it, for Netanyahu this was a warning sign that signaled to him that he had to stop the bleeding before he lost the majority needed to pass the plenum votes. Firing Gallant was a strong, blunt message aimed at deterring other Likud MKs, lest they test him.
Gallant knew that he was hurting his own political interests when he announced his opposition. He knew that he would suffer in the Likud base. Gallant may be a former navy seal, but he apparently thought he was in a cockpit and had enough maneuvring room; he thought he could express his public views and that once he made it known, this will exude calm among the rank and file in the military. That's why he deliberately stayed mum on how he would vote, hoping that this would give him an escape hatch. But eventually, this ended with his plane nosediving and crashing.
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