"Stay on message," this is the mantra every strategic consultant impresses on the client who longs to win an election. Benny Gantz conducts himself as someone who religiously observes this political commandment. Controversial ideas do not exactly roll off his tongue. He sticks to clichés about unity, statehood, stability and responsibility, and has been generously rewarded in the polls.
But now that the issue of "the day after" the Gaza war has made its way to the center of the public debate, is it possible to detect a certain relaxation of the media discipline so ingrained in Gantz? In a meeting with the families of the hostages, he said: "We will not irradicate the idea of Hamas except with another and better idea... . We have no choice but to free the hostages as quickly as possible and win this war as quickly as possible and come up with other ideas."
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It can be assumed that his troubled advisers will implore Gantz not to publicly reveal what those "other ideas" he is struggling to come up with are. But awaiting him in the arena is a cunning politician who won't let Gantz stick only to clichés. In view of the likelihood of early elections, Netanyahu is determined to set the electoral agenda to his advantage, focusing it on what he delimits as the menace of establishing a Palestinian state.
According to the Netanyahu playbook, there can be no shying away from confronting the United States to foil this dreadful plot. Netanyahu's mouthpieces will passionately explain that only their master can say "no" to Washington, and claim that his weak-willed opponents will succumb to the pressure and establish the state of Hamastan just a few meters from the large central Israeli city of Kfar Saba.
Rather than allowing others to portray him as an opinionless politician, Gantz must go on the offensive. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to expose the blatant flaws in Netanyahu's doctrine and prove that his path is leading Israel to a horrible disaster.
Netanyahu is beholden to the messianic extremists whose goal is to annex the West Bank and Gaza. This road only leads to the reality of a binational state in which Israel is responsible for the welfare of 5 million Palestinians. Instead of destroying Hamas, Netanyahu is destroying our relationship with the United States, and any chance of building a regional front against the Iranian threat. Netanyahu is bad for security, bad for the economy, bad for our international standing, bad for internal solidarity, bad for deterrence against our enemies, and bad for preserving Israel's Jewish and democratic character.
Gantz must take the Netanyahu doctrine head on and offer a real alternative, not just a collection of platitudes. Since he has already dared to admit that "other ideas" are needed, he might ask his pollsters to assess Israeli public support for the following arguments:
• There is no security and no Jewish state if we allow ourselves to slide into a binational reality. We must strive for an arrangement that separates us from the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza.
• Long-term control over 5 million Palestinians will further damage Israel’s security and decimate its economy.
• It is verboten to enter into a conflict with the United States, our only ally.
• If we can prove we are headed for a future aimed at a political settlement and not control over millions of Palestinians, Washington will be able to build a regional coalition with our participation against the Iranian threat. In this framework, we will also be able to reach historic peace agreements with Saudi Arabia and other Arab and Muslim states.
• To prevent a binational reality and security disaster, it is necessary to halt expansion deep in the Palestinian populated areas beyond the major settlement blocs.
• Action must be taken to nurture a Palestinian partner capable of governing and uprooting terrorist elements. Israeli willingness to do so will unblock the flow of aid from the donor countries. The enormous sums required to support the Palestinians and to rebuild on the ruins of Gaza will not fall on the shoulders of the Israeli taxpayer.
• Whatever the format of a future permanent arrangement (two states, confederation, autonomy, etc.) will depend on how the Palestinians conduct themselves over a long period of time, on their passing strict performance tests, and on the geopolitical and security conditions that develop. In any case, any Palestinian entity will be demilitarized, and overall security responsibility left to the IDF for many years to come.
Avi Gil Photo: Anna Morein / CC BY-SA 3.0If Gantz's pollsters can convince him that these assertions are acceptable to a very large number of Israelis, perhaps he will be ready to weave them into a clear, elaborated policy that rises above cliché and offers a real alternative to the disastrous Netanyahu doctrine. Gantz will discover that he is the "inventor" of a new idea — one that can eradicate the idea of Hamas while safeguarding Israel's security, and its Jewish character.
- Avi Gil, a former director-general of the Foreign Ministry, is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI). His novel, "Toronto Junction," was recently published by 2sfarim Publishing