Weekly Wrap: Election Warm-Ups and Birthday Bashes

It's gonna be a long, hot summer

By law, an election must be held in Israel by the end of October this year.

It can’t come soon enough.

It’s already May, incredibly… meaning that a June election is highly unlikely, if not impossible. Same for July-August. That is the big summer holiday season (it is actually called “big holiday” in Hebrew) and disrupting travel plans for war-weary Israelis will not be a winning strategy.

September is High Holiday time – they fall and finish early this year. Meaning that the election will likely push the time limit and occur at some point in mid to late October.

Until now, there was a general consensus that PM Netanyahu would avoid an October election because – “October” – is not a good month for Israel. October 7.

But we are definitely seeing the whole election machinery thing rev up. Last week former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid held a press conference to announce the formation of their new party – “B’yachad” - which means “together.” They are uniting to form a party that they hope will bring a plurality of seats, making them the first to be tapped by the President to form a governing coalition. That’s how it works here.

Polling shows that B’yachad and Likud are neck in neck – so the contest is now focused on signing up other small parties - or wooing them if tasked to form a coalition. To control the Knesset a coalition requires a minimum of 61 seats.

In response to the Bennett-Lapid move, Netanyahu put out an Instagram post – showing him cheerfully working out and looking trim and fit. He’s 76. Wears a pacemaker. And the Israeli public just learned recently that he has been treated for cancer. But nothing to fret about. His social media team clearly things that showing him working out in a gym dispels any concerns regarding his health. Cuz. He’s fine. See? Here’s a video to prove it!

For most Israelis, this election is about one thing: ending the illegal draft dodging of the ultra-orthodox community, which has imposed an inhuman burden on those who do serve.

Depending on who you speak to, there is a subset of issues: Jewish terrorism; eliminating financial subsidies for the ultra-orthodox; restoring civic confidence in key state institutions – like the army, police and government; and establishing, finally a State Commission of Inquiry into October 7. What happened. Why. How.

The ultra-orthodox form a distinct society in Israel and care pretty much exclusively about two issues: that the state allows them to continue to shirk military service and that they be compensated handsomely by the state for doing so.

Here’s another rebuttal from Netanyahu’s to the merger of Lapid and Bennett’s parties:

The clip, of course, features Bennett on the left and Lapid on the right, looking sharp, fit and pleased with themselves. But when they peel off their masks, they are revealed to really be Ahmed Tibi, Mansour Abbas and Yair Golan. Tibi and Abbas are two Arab MKs. Golan leads the left-wing Democrats party. In other words, Bibi is saying - a vote for Bennett and Lapid is really a vote for the Arabs and the left to lead Israel.

In another classy move, Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir hosted a 50th birthday party for himself last night. In addition to the Chief of Israel’s police force, many senior cops were also invited and attended, which has caused something of a flap. Traditionally, there is a polite and professional distance maintained between political leadership and senior public servants. Ben Gvir and the police leadership that attended this soiree erased that line.

There were several cakes served at the party last night. The tiered beauty below was topped with Ben Gvir’s trinket of choice these days - a gold noose. Note his portrait in the middle. On the base - there is a map of Israel (including the West Bank) flanked by black guns – on either side.

Yummy!

Here is a short video clip of Ben Gvir that night with his wife, Ayala.

She is presenting him with a smaller cake also decorated with a gold noose. The writing on the cake: “Congratulations Minister Ben Gvir. Dreams do come true.”

Since he led the passage of legislation allowing the capital punishment of convicted terrorists, Ben Gvir and the golden noose have been ubiquitous. (It’s not actually a new law but it is an opportunity to pretend as much and for Ben Gvir to promote himself as the tough guy.) I wrote about this noose obsession in a recent weekly wrap:

The bit about Ben Gvir is about halfway down the piece – you’ll see the photo of a noose sticker.

Before you go…..

I’m not really delivering this week on my aspiration to close out with a lighter bit of news. I just keep coming up blank. So this will have to do. An interview of then Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Abba Eban, with legendary 60 Minutes journalist, Mike Wallace. The occasion for the chat was the 10th anniversary of the existence of the state of Israel.

Aside from making me achingly nostalgic for Eban’s oratorical skill and magic, it’s a fascinating interview.

Sadly, the issues of today are strikingly similar to what was being discussed in 1958. When it came to Israel.

I absolutely love how Eban totally flips Wallace’s negative introduction, which focuses on violence and war:

Wallace: What do you foresee for the next ten years? Do you foresee continuing violence?

Eban: Well, Mr. Wallace, the last ten years have not only been years of violence, they have been incomparable years of joyous creation, of sovereignty restored, of a people gathered in, of a land revived, of a democracy established, but there has also been violence imposed by the hostility of our neighbors. For our second decade we devoutly hope for a period of peaceful consolidation

I commend to you the entire interview, 22 minutes which will be well spent. Eban was always a towering intellect with a great mastery of language, and this reminds me of how elevated and elevating public officials can be.

Thanks for being here, as always. Have a good week.

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