The joint government of Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir (1984-1988) was one of the best Israel has ever had. It got the IDF out of Lebanon, stopped the runaway inflation of the time, and began the transition from a socialist to a free market economy. No less important, it put an end to seven years of bitter feeling between the Right and the Left.
After two tough election campaigns and with a population that everyone agrees is torn, a unity government is what Israel needs now.
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In terms of security and defense, we cannot tolerate the sporadic rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, and a full-scale war against Hamas is just a matter of days or weeks. In the North, the Iranians are breathing down our necks, and we'll be facing another round against them soon, as well.
When it comes to diplomacy, US President Donald Trump is expected to unveil his "deal of the century." While it will die a premature death because of the Palestinians' recalcitrance, immediately after it is rolled out Israel will get to work outlining its own borders, a move that Netanyahu has already begun by announced that Israel would apply sovereignty to Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
Turning to domestic matters, the state budget is about to be slashed because of the government deficit. In addition, drastic steps to cut down on bureaucracy; rehabilitate the Israel Police; and shore up the health care system are also needed. Every citizen feels it.
Half the people cannot tackle these challenges. To address everything that we are facing, we must work together. After so many months and years of rifts and incitement, it's time to calm down, put an end to internecine wars that result in nothing and which the public has long since tired of, and devote our energy to what really matters – which is moving the country forward.
Unity is one of the Israeli people's best-kept secrets. True, we can get things done with half of what we need, and the achievements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government speak for themselves. But working together doubles our power, and we need that power right now more than anything else.
Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White list and a true Israeli patriot, knows all this. The only way he could build a coalition would be to depend on the Joint Arab List. Is that how he wants to assemble his first government?
Netanyahu, you need to know, isn't going anywhere and obviously, he also needs to do his part for unity. Gantz has a lot more to lose from a third election, which would cause his "package deal" to split apart. So as someone who isn't part of the anti-Netanyahu gang, Gantz is in a position to exercise leadership and lead the Israeli people into a unity government with Netanyahu. If he does, he will go down in history.
