Maariv, Israel, January 19
We seem to be observing two different types of Binyamin Netanyahus these days. On one hand, Netanyahu is a confident statesman travelling around the globe, meeting world dignitaries and promoting his country abroad. On the other hand, he is a terrified politician whose lack of confidence pushes him to the edge and causes him to take controversial measures. This includes bashing everyone who doesn’t align with his own agenda, including former army generals, heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet, police chiefs, and attorney generals. Bibi truly hopes that this will help him win the election when the time comes, just like it did last time, when he threatened the public that “Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves.” The problem is that Netanyahu fails to understand that his panic actually strengthens some of his opponents. Chief among them is Benny Gantz, the former Israeli military chief of staff, whose newly-formed party is expected to win over 15 seats in parliament. I personally believe that Gantz will surprise all of us and perform even better than we expect on election day. The more bashing he is subjected to by Bibi’s people, the more of a legitimate contender he becomes. Netanyahu may very well garner the majority of votes but he is not guaranteed the ability to form the next coalition. Gantz, meanwhile, is quickly emerging as a confident, measured, and experienced candidate who can actually stand up to Bibi and replace him when the day comes. So long as the attacks on him continue, he will discover new pockets of support among the general population. The very same attacks designed to weaken him will end up making him stronger than he was at the beginning of his campaign. –Arik Henig