There are moments in the life of a nation that require transcending the "petty" and which outweigh all political scores. Such are the developments awaiting Israel in the days and weeks ahead.
In the very near future, even before the March 2 general election, the government will apply Israeli law to over 30% of Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. There are legal tools with which to do this, despite the current election season, as proposed by Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich. There are fundamental justifications allowing Israel to realize this vital interest, about which the country's greatest leaders throughout history could have only dreamed.
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Immediately after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's return from the United States, the government is expected to make one of the most historically important decisions in the annals of Zionist enterprise – perhaps the second or third most important decision after the adoption of the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine and the expansion of the country's territory in the wake of the Six-Day War in 1967.
Jewish history will not forgive the Israeli leaders who squander the chance to eternally anchor, with international backing, parts of the homeland that are so crucial to the country's security. They are offering Avigdor Lieberman the opportunity to make his home in Nokdim an inseparable part of Israel. Does he have any reason to vote against it?
"We are reiterating and determining that the Jordan Valley is the eastern defensive wall of the State of Israel in any future scenario… we view this region as an inseparable part of the State of Israel. Therefore, after the election, we will work to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley… in coordination with the international community." These decisive words weren't uttered by Netanyahu, rather by Benny Gantz, with Moshe Ya'alon at his side, just a week ago during a tour of the Jordan Valley.
Gantz hit the bullseye, and thus he and the other leaders of the Blue and White party must now translate these words into action. In five or 50 years from now, no one will remember if Gantz lost or won the election. On the other hand, the Jewish people will remember, and how, if Gantz, Lapid, Ya'alon and Ashkenazy said "no" to sovereignty, simply because of a political rivalry. The people will never forget them that. Hence, they and their pundits are now expected to rise above local politics.
On the right side of the political map, too, the magnitude of the hour must be recognized. Indeed, the deal of the century isn't perfect and offers the Palestinians an almost-independent state and a capital on the outskirts of Jerusalem. But – similar to the 1947 partition plan – the positives vastly outweigh the negatives. Three years after the US wanted to declare even the Western Wall as occupied territory, a different administration has come along to say that Yitzhar and Itamar are part of Israel.
Just as David Ben-Gurion's willingness to accept the partition plan paved the path to Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, Netanyahu's acceptance of the Trump plan will pave the way to a wider Jewish hold on additional parts of Israel. How can anyone be against this?
