Netanyahu was the right person to identify the Iranian threat and to prepare for it. He knows the military scenarios as well as anyone in the country.
By YITZHAK SOKOLOFFPRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu exposes files that prove Iran’s nuclear program in a press conference in Tel Aviv, in 2018.(photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)
In a recent speech to the UN, Binyamin Netanyahu announced that “Iran will have enough enriched uranium in a few months for two nuclear bombs.” If true, then Israel may soon be facing a national emergency on the order of the eve of the Six Day War.In May 1967, the Egyptian army was massing in Sinai, the Straits of Tiran were cut off, and the international agreements designed to protect Israel from an Egyptian invasion were collapsing like a deck of cards. On May 28, then prime minister and defense minister Levi Eshkol went on the radio to reassure the Israeli public, but he failed miserably. He had been sleepless for days; Hebrew was not his mother tongue and when all of Israel needed words of strength and assurance he stuttered – literally.Eshkol had been charged with preparing the IDF for any eventuality, and two weeks hence it would be clear that he had done a brilliant job. Nevertheless, in the aftermath of his disastrous speech he lost his legitimacy as defense minister.He then made a decision that would ultimately rob him of the glory associated with the victory of the Six Day War. On June 1 – only four days before the outbreak of hostilities – Eshkol turned the defense portfolio over to his political rival Moshe Dayan, not because he himself wasn’t up to the task, but because he knew that Israel required a national leader who could unite the nation. Eshkol recognized that he could no longer play that role. He remained prime minister, but it was Moshe Dayan whose picture appeared on the cover of Life Magazine and who received the adulation of a grateful Israeli public.If Netanyahu’s announcement on Iran is correct, then Israel faces a major crisis. Without question, Netanyahu deserves the most credit for calling our attention to the Iranian threat and for ordering the IDF to prepare for the day when the unthinkable might become necessary. Nevertheless, this is the time for Netanyahu to follow in the footsteps of Levi Eshkol, but with a twist. He should resign as prime minister in favor of Benny Gantz and assume the role of defense minister.Successful or not, an Israeli strike will inevitably put the country into a state of acute danger of retaliation, primarily from the 130,000 missiles currently held by the Hezbollah but also by Iran itself. Although the IDF will take the lead in neutralizing these threats and in organizing the Home Front for what will unquestionably be a severe crisis, two other factors will be critical: the relationship of the prime minister with the president of the US and the willingness of the Israeli people as a whole to put their trust in their prime minister.Netanyahu was the right person to identify the Iranian threat and to prepare for it. He knows the military scenarios as well as anyone in the country. However, he is no longer the right leader to mobilize the country behind him and to deal with the aftermath of an Israeli preemptive strike, particularly if the next president of the US is named Joe Biden.Israel today is simply far too divided, and Netanyahu has clearly lost the confidence of at least half the electorate. Instead, he should look to Levi Eshkol to learn how to bring the country together when it is truly needed. History will thank him.The writer is a political analyst and tour educator. He is a senior fellow of MEPIN, the Middle East Policy and Information Network.
