Elections are around the corner again in Israel and the atmosphere could not be more toxic. Mendi Safadi, who heads the Safadi Center for International Diplomacy, Research, Public Relations, and Human Rights, declared, "It is the worst electoral atmosphere we have witnessed since the establishment of the state."
"The level of incitement and hatred is unprecedented for a democratic country that claims to be tolerant of different views," he added. "Suddenly, one man stood up and decided that his position was correct, and everyone must align themselves with him or else he will behave rude and intolerant towards the other. There are golden statues, images of hanging ropes, pictures of Nazi uniforms and posts calling to kill Netanyahu, but these are not considered incitement." In the eyes of the Left here in Israel, only the right can be guilty of incitement.
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It is only natural that the Left here incites. They don't have much to offer aside from hatred of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As a civilian, former IDF Chief of Benny Gantz only headed one company, Fifth Division, a cybersecurity company that held sales talks with the Israel Police, and it financially collapsed, subsequently declaring bankruptcy.
Now, it is going to be criminally investigated whether the Israel Police violated acquisition laws by granting a multi-million-dollar contract with a company without a public tender. While Netanyahu wants to make former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who headed a very successful anti-virus software company in the past, to be the next Finance Minister, Gantz wants Blue and White MK Avi Nissenkorn, a former head of the Histadrut labor federation, to be finance minister. Does a labor unionist have what it takes to run the Israeli economy? Most likely, not. With such a finance minister, the fate of the Israeli economy under Gantz would be like that of his Fifth Dimension company.
In contrast, Safadi emphasized: "Thanks to the Netanyahu government, we have made the unemployment rate 3.7%. The minimum wage rose to NIS 5,300 and the average wage in Israel stands at NIS 10,650 per month. He did this while reducing the national debt by 60%, providing free dental care for the elderly and children under age 12 and doubling the wages of police officers and soldiers. Furthermore, the number of tourists entering the country increased by one million. Israel now ranks 19th place on the Personal Development Index, fourth place in the World Health Index and first place as a high-tech powerhouse. There have been huge investments in research and development. Exports increased by $110 billion and the Israel Stability Index is rated AA+."
Safadi noted that there are many more indications highlighting how life has improved in Israel, such as the construction of the Jerusalem Light Rail and the fast train connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem: "Look at the roads and transportation connecting the periphery to the center, the aerial traffic coming to and from Israel, the increasing number of countries recognizing Jerusalem as the eternal capital city of Israel, the strengthening of relations with the Arab world, the efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program and the Shia Crescent, and there are many more that I forgot."
Indeed, Netanyahu's experience in the foreign policy field does not even come close to being matched by Gantz. While Gantz reads off a teleprompter provided to him by former Obama administration political strategist Joel Benenson, Netanyahu speaks from the heart due to his extensive work experience over the past 10 years. As Netanyahu said, all the information that he needs to do the job is already in his brain. Therefore, Netanyahu can accomplish in one hour what it would take Gantz a full day to do, if not more.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee proclaimed, "Netanyahu is Churchill in a world full of Chamberlains."
Speaking before Likud Anglos, Netanyahu related that the sign of good leadership is to learn how to say "no" to foreign leaders by appealing to the public opinion in their nations. He noted that in 1956, when former US President Eisenhower pressured the late Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to withdraw from the Sinai, he complacently did what he was told to do, even though his father advised him on how a leader can get away with saying "no" to the US President by appealing to the American public. However, Netanyahu emphasized that unlike Ben-Gurion, he took his father's advice.
Therefore, when the Americans at one point threatened him to withdraw to the indefensible 1967 borders, he said "no" and appealed to the American public. Furthermore, when former US President Barack Obama signed the disastrous Iranian nuclear deal, Netanyahu said "no" and appealed to the US Congress. He never sat back complacently and gave into the dictates of foreign nations.
However, Netanyahu does not just know how to say "no." He also knows how to work with a wide variety of leaders. Huckabee noted that Netanyahu is a man who pulls people together, stressing that he is one of the few world leaders who can speak whenever he wishes with Putin, Trump, and Macron.
Under Netanyahu, Israel has a better relationship with India than at any other point in the Jewish state's history. After Guinea and Chad reinitiated diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, more and more countries are becoming closer to Israel. Netanyahu was the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit Oman. Sudan now accepts the idea of establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia and many other Sunni Arab Gulf countries are cooperating with Israel on Iran behind the scenes. Under Netanyahu, 161 countries have diplomatic relations with Israel, which is the highest number of countries that it has ever been.
Furthermore, even if nothing else sways your vote, Trump's "deal of the century" should. Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel proclaimed that the 'Deal of the Century' is the "opportunity of the century." She noted that it includes compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab countries, recognition for our eternal right to Jerusalem, no Palestinian right of return and includes our right to annex 30% of Judea and Samaria.
While Netanyahu wants to proceed with this deal regardless for who knows when such an opportunity will come again, Gantz will only agree to take this amazing opportunity "if there is consent from the other side," without taking under consideration that Mahmoud Abbas, the EU, the UN and Joint Arab List, with whom Gantz needs to form a coalition, will likely never agree to this great deal. Thus, if Gantz becomes Prime Minister, the descendants of close to a million Jewish refugees from Arab countries won't get compensated. We will lose the momentum for a united Jerusalem and annexing 30% of Judea and Samaria. Therefore, at this critical juncture, Israel cannot afford to switch Prime Ministers.
After all, as Minister Gamliel noted, with Gantz as Prime Minister, "if we ever want an operation in Gaza, we will need the support of Aymen Odeh and Ahmed Tibi. There can be no operation in Gaza without the support of Joint Arab List." For this reason, Safadi concluded: "Do not be blinded by emotional rants on the left. Let the success and momentum continue. Secure the borders of Israel at a time when the challenges we face are growing and intensifying. Vote Likud led by Netanyahu."
