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Failures On Th e Left: It’s Not Just Netanyahu’s Fault
I
t seems that with each passing day,
with the information revealed about
the Israeli public is exposed to anoth- Case 4000, claiming that Walla! gave
er piece of information on some new
Netanyahu preferred treatment, and
and elaborate corruption scheme or
Case 2000, where Netanyahu and the
multifaceted abuse of power, committed, editor-in-chief of Yedioth Ahronoth are
allegedly, by people in the high-
accused of bartering positive
est rungs of government, media,
reporting, Netanyahu’s sugges-
business, and even the IDF and
tions seem preposterous.
the judiciary.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu’s
Learning the extent of the
campaign against the media is
allegations, some have taken
highly sophisticated. As a leader
aim at Prime Minister Benjamin
of a party that perceives itself
Netanyahu while others target
to be representing the under-
his closest confidants, and it
dog, Netanyahu had to position
Noa Shusterman
seems reasonable to assume
himself as someone who is con-
that the Israeli public would be
stantly persecuted. Menachem
inflamed. Yet, surprisingly, the
Begin took the country by
outrage is less severe than one
storm when he went against the
might expect.
Ashkenazi elite, even though he
The polls continue demonstrating the
was Ashkenazi himself, and gave Mizrahi
Likud’s dominance, with 28 seats for the
Jews the respect and recognition they
prime minister’s party versus 24 for Yesh longed for.
Atid and only 15 for the Zionist Union. It
Despite the fact Likud is no longer
is debatable how accurately these polls
an underdog and has been the most
can predict any upcoming elections: Not popular party for several elections, the
enough time has passed to let the infor-
discourse of Labor versus Likud is often
mation sink in; public opinion might
parallel to supposed schisms of elite
shift when trials commence and more
versus the masses and Ashkenazi versus
information is unmasked and, as most
Mizrahi.
Americans learned in the last election,
Netanyahu is miles away from the pre-
polls can be deceiving.
conceived ideas about the Likud — he
However, these current figures exhibit
is Ashkenazi, came from an educated
three trends that cannot be overlooked.
upper-middle class family, was educated
First, many people will back Netanyahu
in the best institutions and has a last
regardless of his actions. Second, a sig-
name that symbolizes ultimate patrio-
nificant portion of Israelis have a high
tism (every Israeli child learns about
tolerance for personal corruption while
the heroic acts of Yoni Netanyahu). He
the rule of law and moral integrity play a is everything but an underdog; yet, in
limited role in shaping the public mind-
order to maintain his role in the party,
set. Third, the left is not considered a
he had to instill himself with these quali-
relevant alternative.
ties. Painting the media and the left as
The first trend is almost self-explana-
personally attacking him because they
tory — Netanyahu has devoted the past
want to topple the Likud and they can-
decade to delegitimizing the media as
not respect the people’s wishes (as if the
biased and leftist. For many Likud vot-
left is not a part of “the people”) is only
ers, when Ha’aretz or Ynet report on the
one of the methods employed to achieve
latest news regarding one of the cases,
this goal.
it is only because these outlets seek
The second trend signals a tacit
to topple Netanyahu. When I worked
acceptance of corruption among Israelis.
for Walla!News during the last elec-
Some Israelis confront the allegations
tions, Netanyahu refused consistently
made against Netanyahu by asserting
to be interviewed until the last week of
that the corruption allegations are too
the campaign, when the polls showed
gray to be determined as corruption —
Zionist Union leaders Isaac Herzog and
“it’s only cigars” they say — and that a
Tzipi Livni were the preferred candi-
person in Netanyahu’s position (and with
dates. During the week before the bal-
his record of sacrifice for the country)
loting opened, Netanyahu acquiesced to
should be expected to live a lavish life-
speak with almost every media outlet in
style. In complete contradiction to the
pre-recorded interviews from his resi-
first point — Netanyahu as the supposed
dence in Jerusalem (unlike Herzog and
victim of left-wing elites — a prime
Livni who traveled around the country
minister’s indulgent behavior is con-
and visited all the studios).
doned because it demonstrates strength
In one of the interviews with Walla!,
and power. He is the underdog who
Netanyahu reiterated that the media is
claimed the crown — the David who
part of the so-called “Anyone But Bibi”
beat the Goliath — and now deserves
coalition and that it plays an active part
to rule without interference. When Sara
in attempts to replace him. Nowadays,
Netanyahu films a video with a celebrity
8
March 8 • 2018
jn
designer to bemoan how flawed and
unimpressive the official residence is, or
when the prime minister and his wife
receive a few hundred thousand shekels
for image, wardrobe and hairstyle main-
tenance, it encourages the same attitude.
But even this seemingly paradoxical
trend can be explained. Israelis often
like to reminisce and think of David
Ben-Gurion’s humility when he moved to
the desert or Yitzhak Rabin’s resignation
over his wife Leah’s maintenance of a
small American bank account; but Israel
has progressed, advanced and no longer
lives under austerity or a government-
controlled market.
Since the economic crash in the early
1980s, Israel has undergone a process of
liberating the markets, increasing trade
and becoming a more capitalist country
that appreciates expensive tastes. There
is still a tension between what Israelis
consider extravagant, or even indulgent,
and what is acceptable. However, rais-
ing salaries for members of Knesset
or improving their car budgets is less
taboo than in the past and receives less
media attention as it becomes publicly
accepted that public figures deserve to
be properly compensated for their work.
The final trend has been a reality for
more than a decade and shows that even
if Netanyahu is out of the picture, Labor
is not seen as an applicable alternative.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid’s dramatic
ascent in the polls shows that contrary
to the left’s perception that Netanyahu is
the impediment to a center-left coalition
led by the Labor Party, it is, in fact, the
party itself.
For years, Labor positioned itself in
opposition to Netanyahu instead of con-
structing a clear path on its own. The
continuous bickering over whether the
party is left or center, whether it repre-
sents the elite or the working class and
whether leftists are Jewish enough, only
deflects attention from Labor’s agenda.
Refuting each of Netanyahu’s decisions
was the preferred M.O. for several years,
as if this adversarial tack is the only rel-
evant option.
Avi Gabbay, the new Labor Party
leader and a future contender for the
premiership, has his work cut out for
him. He will need to put the party back
on the map and prove that he can lead,
not just react. Labor cannot be compla-
cent — having a Mizrahi in the forefront
will not remedy the party’s growing irrel-
evance in the public eye and neither will
emphasizing its bond with the periphery
or the working class in the media.
Gabbay needs to voice a clear vision
— in town meetings, rallies, house
gatherings — on Labor’s ability to lead
the country to a better tomorrow.
Gabbay has many attributes suiting
national leadership, but so does Lapid,
as do most of the candidates to replace
Netanyahu.
A well-known idiom in Hebrew goes,
“The dogs bark and the caravan contin-
ues,” meaning that despite the ruckus,
things will progress just as planned.
That is what Netanyahu hopes will hap-
pen, that all noise will stay in the back-
ground and that the foundations he built
for years will deflect stronger opposition.
The citizens of Israel stand at a cross-
roads; they must decide whether the car-
avan should carry on, or if they should
live by the democratic standards they
claim to embrace independent of a spe-
cific political figure and that individual’s
popularity. If Labor wishes to regain its
leadership status, this is the opportunity
to take the reins. •
Noa Shusterman is communications and research
fellow at the Israel Policy Forum and an Israeli
Fulbright Scholar.