The Return of the L-Word
The Israeli Elections are ON
Yesterday, IDF solder Sargent Idan Fuchs (19) was killed in batter in a Hezbollah armed drone attack in Southern Lebanon. He is the third soldier to be killed during a “cease fire.”
An officer and three other troops were seriously wounded.
While the soldiers were being evacuated, Hezbollah launched two more explosive military drones at the forces; one drone was intercepted, while the second fell near the troops without causing any additional injuries.
May his memory be for a blessing.
During a month break from college, I worked at the main headquarters of the Presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis in Boston, sitting in on strategizing meetings with the candidate and his staff, and doing whatever grunt work around the office.
At the time, Dukakis has been branded by his opponents as a “Liberal,” and every time it came out of their mouths it sounded dirty, like a curse word. If I am being honest, Dukakis – a good man genuinely trying to help the country – fell when he displayed no real human emotion or anger, when it was suggested that his wife would be raped by one of the criminals he allegedly freed from jail, you know, as a “Liberal.”
No one would have blamed Dukakis for going low in that moment.
Well, the L-word is back in fashion, with former PM Bennett calling himself a “Liberal Zionist” at the press conference last night with former PM Lapid.
What do these men stand for, at least according to their passionate presentation in front of the press?
1. Zero tolerance for those who would avoid the army draft, with immediate financial penalties for those communities.
2. “On day one,” they will establish a committee to properly examine the multiple failures on the day of the October 7 Massacre, placing the blame and the consequences where they belong.
3. “Everyone deserves love, to have a family and receive the legal benefits of being a family.” IE support of single sex marriage, couplehood and child bearing, regardless of sexual identification. No more traveling to Utah or Cyprus to get married civilly and avoid the Rabbinate.
4. I don’t think the Rabbinate will easily give up their monopoly on the halachic power and control of Israeli society, just saying.
5. Reduction of the wasteful empty Ministries, redirecting the billions of NIS back into the sectors of society who actually need the money.
6. Support for public transportation on the Shabbat, because not everyone is Shabbat-observant. I don’t think the Rabbinate will be pleased with this suggestion either.
Opposition Leader and former PM Yair Lapid said that this unity party “ביחד” [translated as “Together”] suits and welcomes absolutely everyone in the country, except for the “draft dodgers and the extremists.”
Former PM Bennett explicitly invited Eisenkott to join them, saying that “there is always a door open for you.”
Various other Opposition party leaders (Ganz, Eisenkott, Golan, Lieberman) praised the initiative of Lapid and Bennet, but have not yet signed on to the tour bus.
Ganz remains insignificant, to anything, because we all know he will join up with Netanyahu, to be humiliated for the nth time by empty promises. If Ganz ran today on his own party, he wouldn’t even make threshold.
But what about the Arab parties? Bennett insisted that his coalition would not include any Arabs. The predominant theory surmises that if/when the “Together” party already held a majority of seats (61 plus), they would invite the Ra’am party, the only Arab MKs who have not come out in the Knesset and called for violence against Israel. Just to shore up the numbers and secure the coalition.
Predictably, the Netanyahu coalition exploded with accusations that this new arrangement represented the ugly “Left,” “Terrorists,” and “Islamic Fundamentalists” bent on the destruction of the Jewish State.
Likud posted: “Even together, it is clear—Mansour is the driver. It doesn’t matter how the Left divides its votes. In any case, Bennett and Lapid will go again with the Muslim Brotherhood alliance, the supporters of terrorism.”
Political analysts on both sides think that this move came too early, given that the elections themselves are meant to take place in six months.
It’s going to be a wild ride.
The political scientist in me – and the Survivor fan in me – can’t wait.