The political map has gotten clearer as we approach the elections. There is Likud, a right-wing-populist party, about which the only democratic thing is how its members were elected in the primaries, many of whom view democracy as not essential. They prefer authoritarian rule, view all gatekeepers as enemies of the national interest and renounce the central Zionist principle of a state with a stable Jewish majority and full equality for all its citizens.
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Further to the right, there are two factions competing against each other in hatred and racism, without whom former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be able to form a government. They owe their strength to his horrifying political move a few years earlier. Even if he regrets the connections he managed to make in the delusional Right, the beast has already gotten out and is taking votes from the Likud itself. Neither Otzma Yehudit nor the Religious Zionist Party believe in democracy or the original Zionism.
On the Zionist-Democratic side, we have four parties whose leaders have already been elected. One needs a magnifying glass to understand the difference between Labor and Meretz, and the only reason they don't run in the elections together is out of fear that together they would garner fewer votes than separately.
A magnifying glass is also needed to understand the difference between Yesh Atid and the State Party. Here the problem is purely personal, and there is no reason a solution cannot be found.
Alongside these two camps, there are two veteran ones, which are neither Zionists nor proponents of the idea of democracy: the ultra-Orthodox and Arabs. Both have traditional reservations about participating in the government based on principles that are different and even contradictory. They find solutions, such as being deputy ministers or joining the coalition, but not taking an active role in the government, so as not to be in charge of its policies.
The upcoming elections will be different than any that came before because of what we see in the polls: the growing power of the far Right. The transition between one camp and another almost never happens. The main question is which faction will manage to get its supporters out of the house and to the voting booths on November 1st.
The establishment of a Zionist-Democratic faction out of the four parties (Meretz, Labor, Yesh Atid, and State Party) to run together in the next election may, in itself, bring about a different mood in the camp, leading to more volunteers and saving energy by no longer needing to criticize each other.
The message should be clear: the joint front will fight anyone who targets the courts, legal counsel, and law enforcement; and in the political sphere, will create a border between us and the Palestinians, either by agreement or unilaterally, within the next four years.
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They possess the winning card. The political map that has been created now prevents the Likud from a joint run, and the center-Left camp must not waste this opportunity to unite, given the calamity that will befall Israel if the populist Right and the far Right gain a majority in the Knesset and get to implement even a part of their vision.
The electoral risk is not great. Voters for either of the four parties that will run together will have no real alternatives. All that will remain is to reach an agreement on personal matters and create a joint list that will take into account both the result of the elections to the 24th Knesset and the trend reflected in the polls.
This is their chance.
