Benny Gantz again in a political dilemma following resignation from gov't - opinion

As the first politician in the history of the State of Israel to resign from the government during a war, perhaps the most important for the Jewish state since the War of Independence, Benny Gantz is once again at the center of public criticism on both sides of the political spectrum.

The 20th chief of staff of the IDF broke into Israeli politics like a storm and led the Blue and White party to a substantial achievement in three election campaigns in 2019-2020. However, after he chose the path of national responsibility by joining a unity government with Benjamin Netanyahu and the right-wing bloc after the 2020 elections, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, Gantz was punished by the Center-Left voters who at the last minute managed to pass him above the threshold.

Despite the eight mandates in the 2021 elections and his portfolio of defense minister, from the point of view of the Center-Left voters, Gantz carries the mark of Cain on his forehead by preventing the fall of Netanyahu after the 2020 elections.

His portrayal as a responsible adult, and as someone who calls for a compromise between the two sides during the protests against the judicial reform, led the mainstream of Israeli society to embrace Gantz back with open arms. 

Waving the flag of nationality and unity, Gantz’s party managed to rise in the polls, mainly at the expense of Likud and Yesh Atid voters, who were looking for a leader to bridge the divides and create unity in the country.

After the October 7 failure did not stick to him, Gantz’s popularity even strengthened among the Israeli public when he joined the Netanyahu government. Unlike other politicians opposing Netanyahu, including Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz has proven that he is a responsible leader and not an opportunist politician. 

Gantz’s willingness to unite at a time when the Jewish state is under brutal attack was seen by the mainstream of Israeli society as the right and proper thing to do, reflected when his party rose in the polls and was on the threshold of 40 seats, twice as many as the Likud. 

Netanyahu did indeed lead the government, but the Israeli public saw Gantz as the one leading the country more than any other politician.

WHILE STATESMANSHIP and striving for national unity were the secret of Gantz’s success, the latter proved that in the end it is his political base that counts. His decision to resign from the government – a day after the heroic rescue of the four hostages from the clutches of Hamas from the heart of the Gaza Strip, a military operation reminiscent of the Sabena and Entebbe rescue operations – is simply an irresponsible political conduct. 

It seems that the fear of continuing to lose mandates, from 37 in mid-February to 25 at the end of May, caused Gantz to abandon his entire doctrine regarding national unity and his famous phrase that “the State of Israel is above all.”

Similar to the differences of opinion in Israeli society, as well as in the government and especially in the war cabinet, it is desirable to have different approaches to how the State of Israel should deal with its security challenges.

In this context, it is clear that Netanyahu and Gantz do not see eye-to-eye on the future of the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority’s place “the day after.” Likewise, they did not agree regarding a hostage deal in which many Palestinian murderers would be released, a deal that many in Israel see as a reckless move similar to the 2011 Gilad Schalit deal.

While it is indisputable that Hamas must be destroyed and that everything must be done to free the hostages, something that was well illustrated in “Operation Arnon,” there is also a consensus in Israeli society on the sentence “our strength is in our unity.”

However, it seems that Gantz forgot this and his irresponsible decision will be remembered forever. Politically, although calling for national unity enhanced Gantz’s popularity among the Israeli public, it seems that abandoning this will also lead to the loss of support for the National Unity Party chairman among the Israeli mainstream. 

Gantz will find it difficult to compete with the extremism of the two Yairs (Lapid and Golan), which will be reflected in a drop in the number of mandates as time passes. What a shame.

The writer is a lecturer and research fellow at the University of South Wales, UK. His recent book is Israel: National Security and Securitization (Springer, 2023). His new book about the Labor Party will be published soon by Resling.