Lieberman joins list of predecessors as electoral deadweight
Op-ed: Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman accomplished nothing of substance during his tenure and his resignation, which was as cynical as his appointment, proves defense portfolio is no longer a quick pathway to premiership.
One of the key interpretations that accompanied Avigdor Lieberman's entry into the defense minister's office is that the post was supposed to shape him as a candidate for prime minister. His conduct in the ministry was also explained using the same logic. Wednesday, two and a half years later, his term came to an abrupt end, and Lieberman is no closer to his goal.
Consistently, the polls never suggested that he was ever a serious alternative for the leadership position. Credit for successful operations against Iranian entrenchment in Syria was never his but rather that of the IDF chief of staff or the prime minister, who touted his influence as an effective leader maintaining good relations with both President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin.
Until his resignation, Lieberman's belligerent statements regarding Gaza were not perceived as an ideology-based policy, but rather as a childish battle over territory with Education Minister Bennett. In any case, if Netanyahu is re-elected, all parties will find themselves back at the same table. With all due respect, a relatively calm and orderly process of choosing the next chief of staff is hardly a glittering event in a resume.
If so, what mark did Lieberman leave on such a strategic position? Indeed, during his resignation speech, the Prime Minister's Office released a photograph featuring Netanyahu and the chief of staff and it is doubtful whether anyone in the country, outside Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party and its constituency, felt that someone was missing from the picture.
Thus ended the tenure of a man who never should have been given the post in the first place.
Lieberman entered the position taking full advantage of the anger on the right towards former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's conduct in the Elor Azaria case. Moments earlier, Lieberman and Netanyahu were exchanging verbal blows, and the prime minister was actually in contact with the Zionist Union party regarding them joining the coalition.
Suddenly, they fell on one another's shoulders, in order to expand the coalition and move it further to the right and calm the political arena. During the first 48 hours, some still wondered what would be the fate of Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh following Lieberman's famous pledge. Within a short period of time it was already clear—What was, will be.
As a result, Lieberman sought to upgrade his status. There was the usual chatter: revolting statements against Israel's Arab population, populistic statements regarding the death penalty for terrorists, and of course the exhausting brawl with Naftali Bennett over the Gaza mess.
Even on this critical issue, Lieberman took his time with his "principles." As soon as the tight, stormy and nauseating election campaign in Jerusalem was decided in favor of his proxy (Moshe Leon), it became possible to move on and present Hamas with an almost unimaginable image of victory.
As expected, the Likud responded to his resignation with venomous remarks. "He was and remains a cynical politician," Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely tweeted. To say that she was right would be an understatement, but this is also true when it comes to the one who appointed him.
Ya'alon's removal and replacement with Lieberman was the mother, father and great-grandmother of political cynicism "The public will not give credit to those who prefer political exercises over national considerations," said Hotovely.
Therefore, aside from political ecstasy and the question of when exactly the elections will be held in 2019, there is no drama here: Israel is not left with a vacuum in the defense minister's position, that was the situation to begin with. And after Israel goes to the polls, everyone will realize that they are actually quite fond of each other in exchange for a senior portfolio. This is also a possible explanation for the fact that in his speech, Lieberman did not personally attack any of his Cabinet colleagues. He still seeks to be there next time, and they are not going anywhere.
And it seems that the added significance of Lieberman's term is that the Defense Ministry position has finally ceased to be a guarantee of a quick political dividend: Shaul Mofaz is gone, Moshe Ya'alon is an electoral deadweight, and now Lieberman is leaving the post just as he entered it. And in his case what will really be remembered is that Ismail Haniyeh is still alive and breathing, and after yesterday maybe even smiling.
