Time to Thank Bibi for His Service

Conflict resolution theory holds that while disputes among individuals or groups appear to be about substantive matters, more often than not, they have psychological layers as well. This is certainly the case when it comes to the “Only Bibi” versus the “Anyone but Bibi” divide. The substantive matters concern his record as prime minister and where he has led the country. The psychological layers are thick and have to do with the person himself.

Like it or not, Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to go down as one of the great leaders of the modern State of Israel. He launched Israel into the new millennium and has led it to new heights in many realms. He also represented a new generation and embodied the “new Israeli,” with his Sayeret Matkal army record, his MIT diploma, and his McDonald’s English. The fact that he has served as prime minister longer than anyone before him, even Ben-Gurion—that alone—speaks to the impact he has had, whether one thinks for better or for worse, on all of us.

And he has led Israel all these years with a severe handicap: For half the country, his leadership was born in sin. Having been elected following Rabin’s assassination, he has carried a mark of Cain along the lines the Prophet Elijah’s rebuke of King Ahab: “Have you murdered and also inherited?” Fueled by guilt on the left and the collapse of the Oslo Accords, he got a bad and unfair rap, but he has never really shaken it. Still, it is fair to say that, given his tenure and achievements, he will be regarded as a highly consequential, albeit tragic, leader and, as such, in the good company of many of history’s finest.

That said, the Netanyahu era must come to an end.

It is not about his legal battles. What began for many of us as seizures trying to sort through the various cases and accusations has turned into brain fog and a feeling of, “Who cares anymore, with all the other fish we have to fry?” Talk about a lack of public interest. It has nothing to do with his personal lifestyle or family dramas. Everyone has their own tzuris (troubles). It is not because of his capitulation to the Haredi parties at the expense of our men and women doing hundreds of days of reserve duty, not to mention the risk to life and limb, and the resulting manpower shortage in the IDF. It is not even because of October 7, although his offloading of responsibility and shifting the narrative to “I saved us from annihilation” is an offensive attempt to turn events on their head, not to mention an insult to our intelligence. These are all loaded issues, and let’s just accept that reasonable minds may disagree.

But here’s where most of us can agree: We are in a state of compound societal fracture internally, while being attacked from every direction externally, and Benjamin Netanyahu has come to be the defining symbol of that fracture. Whether one considers him to be the architect of that fracture or its scapegoat, there is little doubt that his departure would lower the temperature by a significant margin. The country desperately needs to heal and simply cannot do so with all the baggage he carries with him.

The Likud, a political party born of an ideological movement with a glorious history, has lost whatever stature it had left, only to be filled with hacks and clowns under Netanyahu’s leadership. He has strangled an entire party and suffocated any moves to groom new leaders or successors. The question “But who can do the job like him?” reeks of fear and stagnation. That’s what they asked when he replaced the old guard, despite his not having served even a day as a cabinet minister before becoming prime minister. Fun fact: In the 12 elections held since 1996, Netanyahu has either lost the election or failed to form a government after it in six cases. It would be pathetic for the Likud not to force him to step aside and instead crown him head of the opposition if he doesn’t come out on top this time.

Then, if an alternative government can be formed, imagine this—and it’s not far-fetched: A Likud unencumbered by Netanyahu could, with no ideological qualms, join a broad center-right government together with Eisenkot, Bennett, and Lieberman—70 to 75 MKs right there, according to current polling. With that as a foundation, anyone else on the fringes—from Golan to Smotrich to the Haredim to the Arab parties—could be welcome to join, but this time on Mainstream Israel’s terms.

With our sincere appreciation and humility, Netanyahu needs to be thanked for his service and shown the door at the ballot box. There’s a new generation out there—our kids and grandkids—and they have proven themselves beyond imagination. Indeed, trial by fire. Give them a chance. Then we can start to pull together and get some work done.

Enough. We need to move on.