Q&A: Elections
Elections
Question
If elections were held now.
Unlike the long series of election cycles in previous years, this time, in my opinion, the elections really are critical for Israel, with an emphasis on security, which is currently at the top of the agenda, at least for me.
For some time now I’ve thought that Gantz, Lapid, and all the more so anyone to their left, would fold in the war. I’m somewhat worried about this, and now I read the Rabbi’s latest wonderful column, which really says exactly what is on my mind.
- A dilemma arises. It seems that the best bet from a security standpoint is to vote for someone from the Haredi-Bibist bloc. On the other hand, it’s the Haredi-Bibist bloc. In my view, the security issue is more important than the social issue, etc., mainly because this is a time-sensitive commandment and that is for generations. If we miss the momentum and our military achievements now, it will be hard to recreate them, and it is quite likely that it won’t be done before they massacre us again, God forbid (as you wrote so well).
So if elections were being held tomorrow, I would vote for the most steadfast voice on this issue (provided, of course, that it has influence).
What do you think?
Answer
First of all, there are other parties in the opposition too: Lieberman and Bennett, Hendel, and the like. In my opinion, the long-term prices we are paying are terrible, and it is wrong to pay them even in this situation. That is what these corrupt people are counting on—that people will vote for them and let them do whatever they want just because they are “right-wing.” Look at the dreadful dysfunction of this government. The waste, the social rift, and the fostering of Haredi parasitism. All of that has long-term costs that are no less than the cost of the war.
Discussion on Answer
Eli,
Ben-Gvir was never an option.
Bibi, for example—maybe yes. It seems he knows how to stand up to pressure and that he really intends to win. I don’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth, and I’m genuinely worried that he’ll flip at any moment because of political calculations (I don’t know whether the public will still have patience a year from now), but I don’t really know if there’s anything better than that (on the security issue, of course).
Maybe Bennett. I’d already managed to forget about him; Michi reminded me. But he too gives the impression of being a bit fragile. You can pour buckets of criticism on Bibi, but fragile he is not.
When it becomes concrete, I’ll think it through. Until then, obviously, the picture will also change.
Precisely here I have to comment. Bibi is usually spineless. Not resilient at all. Countless decisions he backtracked on and declarations he didn’t stand by. He is very resilient and determined when it comes to his own interests. There he can fight on several fronts at once with great determination. On matters where he has no interest, I’ve usually seen the opposite.
So his impressive steadfastness in the war makes me worry that perhaps he is driven by interests, as people accuse him of being. Those accusations have no basis, so they are outrageous, especially when people make them so categorically, but there is definitely room for suspicion here.
And all this assumes that the right will actually be right-wing, and they’ve already proven to us that they’re just chronic appeasers and not people of action.
Ben-Gvir, for example—my assumption is that the internal situation with Israel’s Arabs really does bother him—but since he’s an inexperienced troll, the left-wing Omer Bar-Lev was much more successful than he was in curbing Arab crime, and with a smaller budget.