By Rabbi Dow Marmur
SAN DIEGO — Some journalists in Israel speculate about a possible replacement for Binyamin Netanyahu as prime minister. I’m not in a position to judge if their ideas are realistic or if it’s only wishful thinking, but the fact that the matter is under discussion is noteworthy.
It’s obvious that there’s no alternative within Netanyahu’s Likud party. Its latest primaries were called off because nobody else ventured to stand against the current party leader and prime minister. But what about outside Likud?
The most obvious candidate should, of course, be the leader of the opposition, but few people see that as a possibility. Isaac Herzog, who heads the Zionist Union, is considered to be a very decent politician but, as has often been stated, few Israelis think that he has what it takes to be prime minster. Some may even offer it as a compliment. Herzog would be a good member of a cabinet, e.g., as foreign minister, and Netanyahu would probably want him in that capacity, but that would spell the end of the Zionist Union and, therefore, it’s not likely to happen.
Yair Lapid, the leader of Yesh Atid, has of late tried to present himself as the real leader of the opposition, hoping perhaps to get the current finance minister and leader of Kulanu, Moshe Kahlon, to join him, but from I read in the press it seems that even that won’t be enough. Only Gaby Ashkenazi, a former chief of staff, could assume that role.
For the last five-and-a-half years Ashkenazi has been under investigation for possible illegal activities against the then Prime Minister Ehud Barak over the appointment of Ashkenazi’s successor as chief of staff. Just as he’s about to conclude his term of office, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has decided to close the file on Ashkenazi and two of his lieutenants due to lack of evidence, though a third ex-officer, Boaz Harpaz, is likely to be indicted. This would allow Ashkenazi to go into politics. Several parties, we’re told, would welcome him with open arms.
Though there will be no criminal charges against Ashkenazi, the attorney general did say that Ashkenazi’s conduct had been unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. In the eyes of some, this makes him eminently suitable as a political leader.
Ashkenazi wouldn’t be the first chief of staff to become chief of the government. Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak served in both capacities and Ariel Sharon, a distinguished field commander, was also prime minister.
A question: Is it because Ashkenazi is a suitable alternative to Netanyahu that the investigation of his conduct took so long thus keeping him out of politics?
So long, but apparently not too long. Ashkenazi is only 61 and thus five years younger than Netanyahu. He has vast military experience that Israelis like in a leader. He even has also been in government: he was the director-general of the defense ministry when the hapless Amir Peretz held the portfolio.
The fact that he’s of Sephardi stock (Bulgarian Holocaust survivor father and mother from Syria) who grew up on a collective farm and not among the Tel Aviv elites, may also be in his favour.
Israel needs a change if it’s to stay democratic. The combination of education minister Naftali Bennett’s ultra-nationalism and interior minister Arieh Deri’s Orthodoxy, both indulged by the prime minister, are gnawing away at the very fabric of Israel.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple. He may be contacted via dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below must be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the U.S.