The Next Elections Must Be About Bibi
Ma’ariv, Israel, December 30
There are no personal elections for prime minister in Israel, but now, due to the prime minister’s behavioral, political and personal circumstances, the time has come to have them. Yes, the March 2021 election should revolve around one question: yes Bibi or no Bibi. In my opinion, the answer is simple. We’ve had enough of Binyamin Netanyahu. It’s time for him to go home and for us to relieve ourselves of his tricks and scams. Netanyahu has reached the end of his political and public path. Every week, Ma’ariv and the other major newspapers reveal stories about the conduct of the prime minister, and often of his family members as well. Netanyahu and his family members couldn’t care less about the Israeli public. All they care about is the “royal family.” I am not a chronic critic of Netanyahu. I deny and condemn certain moves he makes and statements he makes, but also appreciate his positive steps. Yes, there are also some of those, including the normalization agreements with Sudan, Morocco, the UAE and Bahrain. But in recent times, Netanyahu’s actions and conduct are clearly shaped by his desire to evade his trial. In March, Netanyahu will mark 15 years as prime minister. There was no precedent for this in Israel. Even David Ben-Gurion, the country’s founding father, served for a shorter period of time of about 13 years (with a two-year break in the middle). In the United States, it is customary for a president to step down after eight years in office. It is a bit strange that in Israel the term of office of the president, who unlike the American president holds a representative position, is limited to one seven-year term, while the prime minister can serve, if elected, indefinitely. Some might argue that if Netanyahu is elected time and again then he should be allowed to serve. But the truth is that we don’t vote for him; we vote for parties. Until that is changed, Netanyahu doesn’t really have legitimacy from the people, despite what he might say. – Avraham Tirosh (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)
