Frustration makes for a poor political strategist, and during an election campaign, for example, it can sometimes lead politicians to lose their senses and engage in demagoguery. We saw a concrete example of this on Sunday, in an interview New Right party leader Naftali Bennett gave to the Kan public broadcasting authority.
In the interview, Bennett said the defense minister must be replaced because the residents of the south are less important to him than the residents of Tel Aviv. According to Bennett, had a rocket fallen on Tel Aviv, the Israel Defense Forces would have immediately embarked on an operation to take over the Gaza Strip, something that does not happen when a rocket falls in the south. Since the prime minister's decisions are made in consultations with the defense establishment, it may be that Bennett believes IDF commanders are not rushing quickly enough to infiltrate Gaza's alleys and not killing enough Palestinians, as Benny Gantz recently boasted of doing. Bennett's remarks are the obscene accusation of a desperate politician, whose plans have collapsed all around him.
The New Right party was born in sin. The national-religious public carried Bennett on its shoulders and bestowed upon him a shelf corporation. Bennett had planned something of a high-tech "exit" on his path to the Prime Minister's Office. When he realized that wasn't going to work exactly as he had planned, he formed an alternative political party many months ago. In order to justify this move and his throw-away attitude, Bennett explained to the public that former haredi rabbis had prevented him from making certain moves and that the New Right would stop the trickle of votes from the Right to the Blue and White party.
There is an old Yiddish expression that says, "Man plans, and god laughs." That is what happened to Bennett's plans that went awry. The national-religious public is furious, and rightfully so. Even in politics, there are minimum ethical standards. At lightning speed, the Habayit Hayehudi party that Bennett abandoned was back on its feet, accepting with mixed feelings members of the far-Right Otzma Yehudit party. And the voters came home in droves.
Intelligent Israelis have internalized that the Blue and White list is a left-wing party that purports to be on the Right. Right-wing voters have no reason to vote for that party and certainly don't need to stop at Blue and White on their journey leftward.
To the New Right's surprise, Moshe Feiglin's Zehut party – with the blatant assistance of the fake news and fake polling – has begun to steal some of its Knesset seats. Young people who identify as religious are excited by the cheap anarchism and enticing cannabis. Among young religious people, and even on the fringes of the haredi sectors, they have found a continuation of the Green Leaf party. Bennett can sense the Knesset seats slipping through his fingers.
In a desperate move following his party's bleak showing in the polls, Bennett has joined the leftist choir in its criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With that all-too-familiar cynicism, he explained that his issue is with Netanyahu the defense minister, not Netanyahu the prime minister.
A majority of Israel's citizens on both the Right and the Left, including those in the south, understand the difficult price we would have to pay were we to engage in a military operation in Gaza. We've been there a few times. We paid a heavy price.
Before embarking on an all-out military campaign, one must first exhaust every possibility of reaching an agreement, even if that means being dealt a blow to your honor and pride. It is better to transfer suitcases of Qatari cash than – heaven forbid – caskets in the opposite direction.
Even in an election campaign, it is important to keep your cool. True leadership is tested precisely at those moments when mental fortitude is required.
