Ahead of the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, the task of receiving foreign dignitaries was split up among government ministers. One of the dignitaries that I welcomed and accompanied was Prince (now King) Charles. He arrived as a regular mortal, without a crown or a sceptre, and surprised me by asking countless questions after having been warned that he was a bit of unemotional. He asked questions about security and mistakes that enabled the assassination, but he was most curious about whether the Oslo process would die along with Rabin.
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It was an unsurprising question as all of us were asking ourselves the same and were asked about it endless times by the media. The answer given by the proponents was that the leader had been killed, but not his legacy and that our task was to make Rabin's vision a reality. Prince Charles looked at me and asked whether I thought that way. I told him that Rabin, with his unique personality and courage, was totally committed to the peace process and that he would be sorely missed. But, I added, that didn't mean his death would end the peace process. After all, Peres was committed to the peace process no less than Rabin was, and people like myself saw the process as our life's mission and were willing to die for it. He fell silent. I feared my response had not convinced him.
Meanwhile, the question running through my mind as we spoke was a very different one. I wanted to ask him whether he was considering the annulment of the monarchy in the United Kingdom as once he became king this would to a great extent be up to him. After all, it is hardly reasonable that a democratic country give the role of head of state, even if symbolic, to one family with the only criteria for being crowned one's ranking in the succession hierarchy. If tourism is the main motive for keeping the crown, France has just as many tourists as the UK and those tourists visit unoccupied palaces and still leave impressed as if Louis XIV himself was sitting right there in one of the rooms. Despite the opportunity and the temptation, I never gathered the courage to ask.
I accompanied Prince Charles to his hotel, we parted ways, and then met again at the funeral. He told me that since our conversation he had not stopped thinking about how the peace process could continue without Rabin. He said that he hoped my response was right, but he feared that tough times were ahead. He wasn't wrong.
There are no magic numbers
When Lt. Gen. (res.) Gadi Eizenkot recently appeared in "Meet the Press," a quite incredible fact emerged: It was his first time in a television studio. The interviewers – rightly so – presented this as a major scoop, but made the mistake of not making do with the novelty of his TV appearance.
The former IDF Chief of Staff had already interviewed with newspapers and podcasts and expressed his views at length, with his principle message being the critical need to change the diplomatic status quo. He makes sure to refrain from laying out a precise solution, thus joining those who wish to shrink and manage the conflict. As Eizenkot's diplomatic remarks bore no new message, his interviewers pressured him to declare what he considers the minimal number of Knesset seats required to provide legitimacy to form a government. His response was later used as a headline.
The special interviewee, who had until then acted smartly and tried to refrained from making promises and sloganeering, first only said that double digits were required, but that was still not good enough for the interviewers. In the end, they breathed a sigh of relief when Eizenkot mentioned the figure 13.
Clearly, he too hadn't planned on giving out that number when he entered the studio. It is as clear to him – as it is to everyone – that if the results of the election are such that the head of his party – Benny Gantz – will be able to assemble a coalition of at least 61 seats even without the State Party gaining 13 seats, Eizenkot won't be the one who blocks the move. After all, 13 is not a magic number.
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