President Herzog’s hot-mic moment By Ruthie Blum
But Ben-Gvir “has become more moderate,” one of the Shas members mumbled. Nevertheless, Herzog continued, “You have a partner that the entire world is anxious about. I told him that, too. Between us, this isn’t for publication. I don’t want to cause trouble. But I think you have a responsibility.”
After all, Shas is considered by the chattering classes to be no less of a “threat to democracy” than the rest of the factions in the bloc headed by Likud chairman Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, Israel’s former and upcoming prime minister. What some outsiders might not grasp about the nuance of internal Israeli disputes, however, is that while the likes of Ben-Gvir have been fighting for the right of Jews (not solely Arabs, as the status quo dictates) to pray on the Temple Mount, Shas rabbis are among those who vehemently oppose the move on religious grounds.
So, even if Herzog was unaware that the audio was running when he conveyed his message of concern, his appeal to Shas was not the least bit accidental. Nor was his sudden lack of neutrality – the quality that his position requires – a slip-up.
But the advent of Netanyahu’s “full, full, right-wing government-in-the-making” is clearly causing the one-time Labor Party leader no small amount of cognitive dissonance. Each failed attempt at rallying the so-called “center” around Netanyahu seems to have deepened his furrowed brow.
HERZOG IS in a bind, not merely having to accept the slam-dunk victory of the Bibi camp that Ben-Gvir was instrumental in bolstering, but to oversee and welcome its formation in a magnanimous fashion. It’s one thing to uphold evenhandedness in the face of the outgoing coalition, comprised of ideologically disparate parties, among them his own. It’s quite another to manage the feat under the current circumstances.
Ben-Gvir’s response was as swift as it was respectful.
Ben-Gvir averred that as a result of these conversations, he has begun “meeting with diplomats, and will work to explain the positions of Otzma Yehudit to the entire world.”
Judging by his op-ed on Monday in Israel Hayom, he meant it. The headline, “My brethren on the Left, give me a chance,” indicated that he is on a mission to change his image. This alone should provide Herzog with a modicum of relief.
“Despite our differences, despite four rounds of elections that have led to a polarized public discourse and an accentuation of our divisions, despite the demonization, despite everything, we are brothers,” he began. “No, the country hasn’t come to an end. You and we together, we are the country, and we have no intention of changing that.”
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