In the early stages of the election season, when the two rival camps took up positions opposite one another – the nationalist camp headed by Benjamin Netanyahu and the leftist camp headed by the duo of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid – there was hope that this time we'd see a calm, serious and even somewhat sleepy campaign. That hope was predicated on the notion that the ideological battle that had raged for years between the two camps had already been decided by the public and by our everyday reality. The Left's views, pertaining either to land concessions or the economy, didn't meet the reality test and ceased serving as a functional counterweight. Consequently, the political Left was forced to camouflage its positions and don disguises, sometimes as Center and other times as Right. After this ideological divide was diminished, we could have anticipated the discourse of hate to wane and the rise of a fair, civil election race.
But these hopes were dashed, and responsibility for this falls squarely on the shoulders of the Blue and White party and its hybrid list of candidates. They chose to compensate for their lack of a discernible ideology and inability to offer an ideological alternative to the Likud by waging a propaganda campaign of intimidation bereft of ethical restraints. The same thing happens in soccer: When a team short on talent faces a quality rival, players resort to dirty tactics. Blue and White's players have been playing dirty for weeks, employing any lie or slander at their disposal.
What haven't we heard yet from Gantz, Lapid and their teammates? It seems they've used every trick in the book. In just a few weeks of campaigning, Gantz and his advisers have managed to pollute the political arena with enough rhetorical garbage to vie for a Guinness world record. Blue and White's foot soldiers conjured a new slander every morning, and with each passing day the baseless hysteria reached new heights. Let us recount the most memorable of these slanders, those that went above and beyond.
Remember when Gantz and his cohort accused the prime minister of treason? Remember when he said Netanyahu was in cahoots with the Russians? Do you recall the time he actually alleged that Netanyahu wanted to kill him? All these delusional accusations were casually thrust into the political discourse, without an iota of substantiation and which Gantz himself didn't even believe.
The purpose for this mud-slinging was singular: to divert the public's attention from actual work and achievements, an area where Netanyahu holds a considerable advantage, and to prevent any real discussion over ideas and the country's direction, an area in which Gantz and Lapid are sorely lacking.
Regretfully, we can't say their efforts failed. The invectives of Blue and White, painstakingly parroted by its leaders at every turn, were largely indulged by the left-wing media and have dominated much of the election coverage. It's reasonable to assume that some of the lies – even the more insane and idiotic of the bunch – affected public opinion, stuck to their target and sullied the election. How fortunate that this mud-slinging will come to an end next week.
