For western elites, another savior of Israel: Benny Gantz

Ofer Neiman responds on Facebook to a report in the Israeli press on the growing political appeal of Benny Gantz: A poll showing that Israel’s most recent ex-army chief Benny Gantz would defeat Benjamin Netanyahu “if a race for the prime ministership were held today… [with Gantz] at the head of a center-left party.”

As expected, Israel’s growing isolation does not pass unnoticed by the Israeli public. A savior is needed, and contrary to fear-mongering, the Israeli public does not necessarily prefer one of the fascists to the right of Netanyahu.

Poster boy (and Gaza war criminal) Benny Gantz, who is both:

1. Ashkenazi

2. a former IOF Chief of Staff,

is the leading candidate. He’s the only one who is preferred to Netanyahu, according to this poll.

The other centrist candidates, who do not meet both of the above criteria, trail behind Netanyahu.

The test of Palestine solidarity folks all over the world: Keeping Israel isolated under BDS and convincing the Israeli public that Israel is a pariah state even with someone like Benny Gantz, who speaks softly, and can easily be easily endorsed by Western political elites.

Otherwise, this will be just another stage in the cycle:

Nominal right wing in power ->Israeli public gets fed up -> Israeli public elects a “centrist”, who kills Palestinians just like the right wing and sustains apartheid-> The “centrist”leader is accused of being “soft on Palestinian terror”, and the public grows frustrated with his “weakness” -> The public elects another nominally right wing prime minister.->etc etc.

The list, in order:

Benny Gantz > Benjamin Netanyahu > Yair Lapid > Yuval Diskin (former head of the Shabak, “mastermind” of the so-called “targeted assassination doctrine” > Gabi Ashkenazi (He’s apparently Mizrahi, not Ashkenazi) > Isaac Herzog

It is 1997 all over again– because it’s reminiscent of the Ehud Barak campaign which began in 1997-98, then culminated with the personality cult of the ’99 elections, withour commando hero, against the bad primitive Likudnik Israelis.