This is a public response to a private comment by a 30-something acquaintance. He told me, “You are right in all you say, but politics is like that.”
For the benefit of those whose political awareness developed during Netanyahu’s regime, here are some stories about norms that were common here until fairly recently. And yes, none of the leaders mentioned below was perfect; all can be criticized.
In 1977, when Yitzhak Rabin was prime minister, it was revealed that the bank account that the Rabins opened when he was ambassador to Washington was not closed upon their return, as the law required. Leah Rabin’s uncle was the bank’s contact person; it would have been easy to lay the legal blame on her. But Yitzhak insisted that he was a full partner. He withdrew his candidacy in the forthcoming elections, which brought Likud to power.
In 2008, following Ehud Olmert’s indictment on corruption-related charges, Netanyahu stated that Olmert could not remain prime minister due to concerns that his decisions would be affected by his situation. Netanyahu was absolutely right, which is why those who believe he should have resigned after cases were brought against him often quote his earlier statement. Olmert’s conduct at the time was less familiar. He announced that he would resign immediately after primaries in the Kadima party so that leadership would be transferred in an organized way.
Tzipi Livni was chosen to replace Olmert but was unable to form a coalition as she refused some of the demands made by Shas, the ultra-orthodox Sephardi party. Netanyahu complied with their wishes and returned to power. Ronny Bar-On, a veteran Likudnik and hero of the Hebron-Bar-On affair (an appointment designed to manipulate the legal system), told a reporter that politically, Netanyahu was right as he returned to power. But from a national viewpoint, he was wrong to torpedo Shas joining a Livni government, as it damaged the economy. Who is surprised that public well-being was not top of his agenda?
But why look to the opposition? As a member of Knesset, Menachem Begin would leave the plenary when Meir Kahane spoke. Other members of his faction followed his refusal to listen to a racist. Ahead of the last elections, the successor of the former refused to be photographed with the heir to the latter. After the elections, Netanyahu, having reaped the fruit of his efforts to ensure that no vote on the right would be lost, not only had pictures taken with Itamar Ben-Gvir but also put that convicted criminal in charge of the police and placed Bezalel Smotrich, the patron of hilltop youth, as their guardian in the ministry of defense while also serving in what is apparently a minor position, minister of finance.
Netanyahu has no one to blame but himself
I would have explained all this in a private message to the young person who believes that the political abnormality is normal. But then we witnessed the shocking death of hero Yuval Kastelman, who was killed by friendly fire after rushing to the scene of a terror attack, and Netanyahu’s inconceivable “that’s life” in response. He sort of reneged, in his usual style – I didn’t really know. Is the prime minister not aware of the main headlines? Alas, he has no one to blame for his public display of imperviousness.
And then I remembered the former King Hussein of Jordan. In 1997, he halted a visit to Spain and went to Beit Shemesh, where he kneeled in apology before the families of seven schoolgirls who were murdered by a Jordanian soldier while they were on a school trip near the border. Whoever finds this difficult to believe – photos show the King wearing a red keffiyeh. Seated next to him is the man who was then and is now our prime minister.
No, my dear young friend. It is not necessarily like that in politics. We know different and deserve different.
The writer was Israel’s first ambassador to the Baltic republics after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel’s National Defense College.