1.
Happy Purim to us. I know there's still time, we've barely started the month of Shevat, and I'm definitely not at the age where you prepare for Purim months in advance. There's still time (so don't buy costumes too early, because the kids won't be able to resist and will wear them at home, and by Purim they'll be ruined).
That's all that concerns the Purim of Shoshan HaBira. But as far as our kingdom is concerned, we have long been in the midst of the Book of Esther. In recent times, we have witnessed a chain of historical and dramatic events, each of which is miraculous in its own right.
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When you read the Book of Esther on Purim, it seems like everything happened in a few days, maybe a few weeks. A feast for Ahasuerus, then Haman rises to prominence and convinces the king to kill all the Jews. Boom. A few days later, the king's sleep wanders and he orders the Book of Memoirs to be brought, then it turns out that Mordecai saved him, then Esther's feast and - boom, the decree is revoked and Haman is hanged. Event follows event.
But no. The plot of the Book of Esther, from King Ahasuerus' feast to the miracle of salvation, unfolded over no less than ten years (!).
Think about what the opinion articles in the newspapers looked like at a time when Mordechai did not kneel or bow. And I'm even talking about the Jewish press. They probably criticized him and wrote harshly against his insistence. Political reporters revealed documents with harsh assessments by former senior military intelligence officials about the damage he might cause to Jews. Evil cartoons were published.
And not just in the Mordecai arena: this whole saga of Ahasuerus' relations with the Jews lasted, as mentioned, for an entire decade. Did anyone in real time even realize that there was a miraculous divine move here? Not sure. You know what? Maybe on the day Haman led the horse with Mordecai on it in royal attire, the main news broadcast reported some kind of positive event, and the sour-faced hostess changed her habit and smiled.
Apart from that truly surprising day, I estimate that until the decree was repealed, reality would not have seemed to be moving in the right direction.
But in the Book of Esther 2020, everything is much clearer. I am not claiming that Trump is Ahasuerus, nor is Netanyahu the Jewish Mordecai. But you would have to have a head of a Vizta not to see how God, the Blessed One, manages the world in general, and the State of Israel in particular, step by step.
This week, another dramatic chapter in the twisted scroll was written before our eyes. What will be the end? We believe that in the end, there will be light and joy and joy and treasure.
The question is what will happen until then.
2.
And hence to Gantz: On Monday this week, in the afternoon, I received in several groups the WhatsApp video of him being interviewed upon his arrival in Washington.
There, into the microphone of a 'Kan' reporter, he said the words that became a cult within minutes: "We just arrived. We organized, we are organizing, we will organize.".
Even before I opened it, I knew what I was going to see. Even without pressing play, you can see that it's a video with Benny Gantz, and if Gantz is in the first act, then in the second act – sorry, actually in the first – there will be a statement from him that will embarrass you.
Even if you don't vote Blue and White, you'll be embarrassed for those who do. Which means being embarrassed for quite a few people. 1,151,214 men and women voted for Gantz in the last election, and according to all the polls, a similar number will vote for him in the next election.
Think about it: hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have been delegitimized by Netanyahu to the point where they agree that Gantz will replace him. You have to reach a very, very high level of incitement (is there such a word?) to take such a crazy risk.
What did Attorney Ari Shamai say this week? "There is not a single person in the country who, if he had a business worth a million dollars, would let Benny Gantz run it and not Netanyahu, no matter how left-wing he may be.".
3.
And let's not get confused: The problem with Gantz is not the blunder. The blunder is just a symptom. A symptom that, by the way, can be lived with.
Recently, when asked about his embarrassing appearances, Gantz said that "even Moses stuttered." True. Judaism is not overly impressed with rhetorical abilities. It doesn't have to go all the way to Moses. Even in our generation, the great men of Israel were not "elected" to their positions because they knew how to speak well.
But with Gantz, it's not just heavy-handedness, it's also heavy-mindedness. He's simply not made of the right material, he mainly has the right cover. After all, without his appearance, he would never have reached such support percentages. In fact, he wouldn't even be a candidate. Can you imagine Blue and White putting Eisenkot at its head? Never. Why? He was also Chief of Staff. The answer is: True, but is that the height of a Chief of Staff?
""His public relations officers - who are actually his managers - understand that the left is desperate to portray a leader, and that left-wing journalists are eager to photograph a 'born leader,'" Dr. Eitan Orkivi observed this week in Israel Today. "They circle around him together like a wardrobe department at an opera in a change of scenery: it is no longer possible to identify who is from the campaign and who is from the media - one with powder, another with a hat, the third is shining a shoe, everyone works in an energetic beehive-like buzz so that the two or three successful frames come with a suit, a flag in the background, a security guard, something American - all the necessary props to make it look 'like a prime minister.'.
""This is what is meant by 'we organized, we are organizing, we will organize.' The set is ready... action, cut, tweet. So Benny Gantz did Washington, and finally gave some relief to the advisors, journalists, and tweeters, whose threshold of expectations is already so shallow, inferior, and superficial - that they are bursting with pride that the candidate got a selfie with Trump.".
""It's true that the neighbor's successful and hated kid changes history while we marvel at the fact that our jewel managed to tie a tie, but this is the horse we have, and with it we will win.".
4.
This week, Blue and White launched its campaign for the upcoming elections. I don't know if there was a festive launch event, but there was more than that: the campaign reached the candidates' lips. Every party has a message page, and that's acceptable, but with Blue and White it's especially transparent. You hear everyone repeating the same statement word for word, as if everyone had their own private teleprompter.
In the previous elections, Lapid repeatedly talked about how Netanyahu was once good, but something bad happened to him. "I know him, he's not the same Netanyahu he used to be. Something happened to Bibi, he lost it," he said and repeated until this lie took root in the minds of 1,151,214 voters.
Ahead of the upcoming elections, they decided to freshen up the message a bit. Here is the latest version from this week: "It is clear that a person cannot manage the affairs of the state and at the same time manage cases of bribery, fraud and breach of trust while at the same time dealing with the deal of the century," Lapid said just hours before Trump and Netanyahu's historic press conference.
And Benny Gantz wrote in exactly the same words: "The citizens of Israel face a clear choice: a prime minister who will work for them or a prime minister who is busy with himself. No person can run a country and simultaneously manage three serious criminal cases for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.".
Well, not exactly. An ordinary person cannot run the affairs of the state and at the same time handle cases of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, but Netanyahu is not an ordinary person.
I'm not a foolish follower of Netanyahu. I'm not even just a follower of his. But his performance these days, these years, in the face of all the pressures and all the threats from all kinds and from all directions, is astonishing. But what, are you saying that when his trial actually begins, his abilities to run the country will be harmed? Okay, I'm with you. It's possible. But believe me, Netanyahu is hurt and bruised and troubled by legal cases, Gantz is at the peak of his height and beauty and organization.
• The column is published in the newspaper 'Bisheva''
