By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM–Several aspiring politicians who’d like to replace Binyamin Netanyahu as prime minister are assuming/hoping that the present coalition won’t last its full term. Despite the recent addition of Avigdor Lieberman and his party in order to strengthen the government majority (from 61-59 to 66-54) things remain unstable.
The issue over non-Orthodox access to the Western Wall may in the end provoke the ultra-Orthodox parties to leave. The allegedly tense relationship between the prime minister and Naftali Bennett, the education minister and leader of the Habayit Hayehudi party, may also end up in rupture. And the newly minted minister of defense Avigdor Lieberman, though reportedly sufficiently pragmatic to keep his mouth in check in order to keep his job, may be forced to leave should the various law suits against his associates openly implicate him.
Among the obvious hopefuls are Yair Lapid whose Yesh Atid party may do well in the next elections and who seems to be grooming himself for the top job, and Erel Margalit, a Knesset member on behalf of the Zionist Union who probably rightly calculates that his party’s current leader, Isaac Herzog, will soon be replaced. There’s opposition within Herzog’s own ranks and the predictions of pollsters aren’t in his favor.
Then there’re the hopefuls within Netanyahu’s Likud party. There’s reported dissatisfaction that he’s holding on to several portfolios (foreign minister, minister of communication and others) that should go to Likud cabinet members. And, in order to make room for Lieberman as defense minister, the prime minister had to ditch Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon who, as a result of the removal, has emerged as a credible alternative. Others in Likud and as well a couple former chiefs of staff may turn their attention to national politics and seek the top job.
The 55-year old Margalit is perhaps the most serious of all contenders. Like two other prominent politicians – Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat (who recently formally joined Likud as a hint of his ambition) and Naftali Bennet – Margalit is very rich. His net worth is estimated at 60 million US dollars. He has also been cited in many international publications as a very skilled venture capitalist. He may have political leadership skills too.
Margalit implicitly articulated his ambition and presumably that of others when he suggested recently that Netanyahu is too preoccupied with the various problems in and around the law courts concerning the managements of his household, the allegedly undeclared donations from shady characters in Israel and abroad, as well as his suits against journalists, to be able to pay full attention to matters of state.
However, the timing of the charge seems most inappropriate. The prime minister has just returned from a seemingly triumphant visit to several African countries in the course of which he’s said to have impressed his hosts to believing that Israel is a major power to be reckoned with.
Nevertheless, one doesn’t have to be a pollster or an aspiring contender to sense that the country is beginning to look for political change. Until now the argument has been that there’s nobody in the land to replace Netanyahu. The above (partial) list suggests that this may no longer be the case.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. Now residing in Israel, 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 United States.)
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