Bribery Suspect Netanyahu and Vote Thief Gantz Form an Alliance of Scoundrels

On Monday evening, Benny Gantz signed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public acquittal. That is the bottom line of the coalition agreement between Kahol Lavan and Likud. In agreeing to serve as Netanyahu’s appointed successor, Gantz made it clear to the public that he doesn’t care about the prime minister’s bribery indictment. He has no reservations, ethical or otherwise, about a political partnership with a man who has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust and who seeks to destroy Israeli democracy. This is a man whom Gantz himself held up before the March 2 election as the Israeli version of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

For Gantz, the image is reversed: Netanyahu’s indictments aren’t a problem; they’re an opportunity. They give him a chance to qualify for the top post in 18 months or possibly sooner, in the event that Netanyahu resigns or falls ill. Gantz didn’t enter politics to promote principles and values. Instead, he saw it as a track for promotion: from IDF private all the way to chief of staff, and now, as a civilian, to defense minister and prime minister.

That’s what the coalition agreement promises, and he chose signing it with Netanyahu over a fourth general election during the coronavirus crisis. He concluded that even if there was only a slim chance that he would actually replace Netanyahu after 18 months, it was presumably greater than the likelihood of Kahol Lavan forming a government without Netanyahu.