Will New Elections Help Us Win the War?

by Emanuel Shilo, editor of Besheva, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The calls for new elections in Israel are disruptive, not smart politically, and distract us from our real needs.

Last week, when the Kaplanists [those who incessantly protest and disrupt life in Israel so as to bring about the downfall of the current government] declared a "Day of Disruptions,' I was very worried that I would be unable to reach Jerusalem from my home in the Shomron. In the end, not only did I have an uneventful trip, but the photos I saw from other areas in the country showed that the protestors were unable to recruit large numbers of people for their cause. Their attempts to recruit, as in the past, the Histadrut Labor Union, various hi-tech companies and their employees, doctors, municipal workers and more scored only very minor success. 

That is to say, the Nation of Israel is smarter and more responsible than what the Kaplanists thought. Even many of those who truly wish to undermine the current government understand that there are certain things you just don't do during wartime. Some of them may even now be realizing that the protests they held a year ago were simply over the top and catastrophically unrestrained, and even helped to a certain extent bring about the Gaza massacre. They might not admit it openly, but by voting with their feet and not showing up, they are indicating that it is time for more civility and less hatred and incitement.

With only five days left until the end of the current Knesset session – the parliament will then be in recess until Sept. 5th – it is clear that the government will not be falling in the near future. Yes, there are cracks in coalition unity, but they are expected to be harmless and all but forgotten for at least the next couple of months.

Anyone But Bibi – Logic, Anyone?
There are those who wish us to believe that in light of the very complex situation our country faces, the only solution is new elections. Among them are the "Anyone But Bibi" group, those who simply hate Netanyahu. They are hard to reason with. There are, however, some who are more to the point, and sincerely believe that new elections will bring about a new government that will know how to manage our crises better than the current one. The following words are directed towards the latter group.

Firstly, let us remind ourselves that the ramifications of an invective-filled election campaign, in the middle of a war or at any time, are liable to be higher than even a change in government that might follow. To this must be added the fact that it is far from sure than such a change will in fact happen. Yes, polls and surveys show that Netanyahu will not win another election – but who knows better than the Israeli public how misleading these polls can be. Not to mention that even what might be true today has no particular bearing on what might be true three or six or nine months from now.

And thus, new elections might likely end in yet another victory for Netanyahu. He might then use this as proof that the country trusts him and that he need not appoint a commission of inquiry into the events leading up to Oct. 7th. It could also lead to non-definitive results, as occurred in four recent elections, which would mean a transition government headed by none other than Binyamin Netanyahu. 

Those who truly wish to replace Netanyahu are therefore be advised to "sit tight:" When the elections are held as scheduled in October 2026, the voice will be heard of many right-wingers who believe that Netanyahu has had his day but that now is not the time to replace him. 

And in general, who among today's politicians can do a better job than Netanyahu? I beg to differ with the conception that everything will be fine and dandy once we replace Netanyahu; it is nothing but a Messianic idea, detached from reality. When we ask them who can take Netanyahu's place and do a better job, we receive no logical answer. They simply repeat their mantra: Netanyahu has to go! And then they call their political opponents "Messianic…" 

Who are Netanyahu's possible replacements? Benny Ganz, vague and hesitant, who is controlled by his advisors and surrenders to Kaplanist dictates? Yair Lapid, entirely a hollow poseur who switches his opinions and arguments whenever convenient, barely ever taking a consistent position on any issue? Avigdor Lieberman, who hates hareidim and has incited against them, and who, as Defense Minister, promised to kill Hamas leader Ismail Haniye within 48 hours if he didn't release the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Sha'ul? Or perhaps Naftali Bennett, who when he was Prime Minister not only was proud of having greatly increased the number of Gazan workers entering Israel, but also adopted practically the entire "conception" that led to the current war? 

Not only is there no candidate for Prime Minister who is not infected with the "conception" that Hamas (and Hizbullah) are deterred and need not be vanquished, there is similarly no one who has the proven strengths and skills to deal with the crises facing us that Netanyahu has. Is there even one person in the current political establishment who would be able to succeed in standing up to the pressures of The Hague and the Biden Administration and insist on conquering the Philadelphi route in Rafah? Netanyahu did so, even under the threat – which was carried out, at least partially – of an embargo on American weapons. 

Furthermore, Ganz, Lapid, or Eisencott would have long ago caved in to the demand for a "deal at any price" for the release of some of the captive hostages. For, as we know, what is on the table now is a deal for a limited number of hostages, including corpses, in exchange for an end to hostilities and the ceding of nearly all our military achievements of the past 8 months. 

This does not mean that Netanyahu is running this war effectively. He is not. But he is apparently doing a better job than any of his potential replacements could do. What this means is that the solution to our problems is not political. What we are missing is a strategic solution. 

Israel is facing a very difficult strategic challenge, pressure-filled from many angles, with dangers and little room for maneuver – in short, one with no simple solutions. The questions are many and complex. If we want to destroy Hamas, is there any alternative other than total conquest of Gaza and the installation of an Israeli military government? Can we afford to end this war without a decisive blow to both Iran's nuclear project and Hizbullah? How can we achieve the release of the hostages without caving in to Hamas and enabling a Hamas victory? 

Given such fateful questions, it is sadly regretful that instead of thinking all together about the correct strategic formula, we are being forced into internal bickering and misplaced hopes that new elections will save us.

What we need are not new elections, but a unity government. This means that the Likud and the current coalition partners must agree to a redistribution of the ministerial portfolios. The country needs the best of its minds and thinkers to sit around a table and come to effective strategic decisions that will serve us well in the long run. As head of the government, of course, Netanyahu must be attentive to his partners, and not think that he has all the answers.

Forget politics. It's time for strategy.

Connecting Gush Etzion to Jerusalem – Literally

by Haggai Huberman, translated by Hillel Fendel.

It was 25 years ago, in May 1999, when I interviewed the late Shilo Gal for the now-defunct HaTzofeh newspaper of the Mizrachi movement. Gal was then completing 20 years as the first head – mayor, essentially – of the Gush Etzion Regional Council. 

I asked him what accomplishment he was most proud of during his term as the founding head of Gush Etzion. He answered firmly: "I am proudest of having formed a wall of Jewish settlements between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem, which blocks a Palestinian spread and push westward to the Green Line [as the former border between Israel and Jordan was then known]."

If that's what he thought then, when the "wall" was quite sparse, we can just imagine what he would say now!

Shilo Gal came into the world in 1948. He would have been born in pre-State Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, but the women and children had been evacuated to safety some weeks before; Shilo's father remained there and was killed when the Jordanians captured the area. This occurred the day before the State of Israel's independence was declared, when Shilo was two months old.

In September 1967, Shilo was among the group that re-established, with governmental permission, Kibbutz Kfar Etzion on its 19-year-old ruins. Chanan Porat, who led the initiative, met with then-Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to obtain his authorization. He told me years later that Eshkol hinted that the few small communities he was willing to authorize then would soon grow much bigger… "Eshkol went over to the large map on the wall and placed his hand over the entire Mt. Hevron area," Porat continued, "and said, 'Let's see, Gush Etzion is here? OK, we'll say that we just expanded Jerusalem a little…'"

That's how it was in the days when the Labor Party was more right-wing and nationalist than today's Likud party.

Nearly 57 years have passed since then, during which Gush Etzion has grown many times over and has seen four successors to Shilo Gal. Two weeks ago, the government approved official community status for five outposts in different areas of Judea and Samaria: Evyatar on the trans-Shomron highway, Sde Efrayim in western Binyamin, Adurayim in the Mt. Hevron area, Givat Assaf near Beit El, and N'vei Ori (Cheletz) in northern Gush Etzion. The location of each one of them has critical strategic importance.

IDF Gen. Yehuda Fuchs, who completed his stint this week as Commander of the Central Region, riled up not a few people, including myself, with his parting speech sharply criticizing the outpost settlers. On his way to what appears to be his new career as another left-wing former army general commentator, he seemed to identify in his speech less with the Jewish residents and more with the Arab population. 

However, it must be said that just a few hours before his uncalled-for speech, he signed a document of great value and importance for the settlement enterprise: an order that includes the area of the N'vei Ori farm in the Gush Etzion Regional Council. This paves the way for the next step in the planning process: the preparation of the taba, or "town building program." In general, the addition of five new Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria is good news for the nationalist sector and the State of Israel.

N'vei Ori was established a few months after the despicable terrorist murder in 2019 of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher, a National Service volunteer from Tekoa. The farm is located just a few kilometers away from the site of the murder, on a ridge above the Heletz Brook. Particularly significant is the fact that it actually connects Gush Etzion to Jerusalem – a fulfillment of Levi Eshkol's joke-come-true about "expanding Jerusalem a little." 

As Gush Etzion Council head Yaron Rosental wrote last week, "The decision to recognize N'vei Ori as a new Jewish community in the Heletz area is exciting and important for two reasons: 1) Another Jewish point of settlement in Gush Etzion! And 2), it completes the link between Gush Etzion and Yerushalayim, totally and absolutely!"

Rosental illustrated this second point most concretely:

"One who walks northward from the Lone Oak Tree [a remnant of the original Gush Etzion bloc, and now a tourist site featuring a three-dimensional topographic model of the entire Gush Etzion] just outside Alon Shvut will encounter the following milestones and communities: 

• After 50 meters he will hit upon Alon Shvut.

• A half-kilometer further up he will reach the Netiv HaAvot neighborhood of Elazar.

• 800 meters (a half-mile) later – N'vei Daniel.

• One kilometer further north – Sde Boaz.

• Two kilometers from there – the new N'vei Ori farm.

• Another kilometer later, he will arrive in Har Gilo.

• Another few hundred meters and he is in Jerusalem!

"In the 70's [Rosental continued], after the founding of the first communities in Gush Etzion, no one believed that we could actually be connected to Jerusalem. This is why [in accordance with Moshe Dayan's original plan], Route 367 was "broken through" towards the Elah Valley in the west, so as to connect the Gush with western Israel and not Jerusalem.

"I recall that when I finished the army, I used to walk from Har Gilo to Kfar Etzion on Fridays. The first part of the hike was simply beautiful, but the truth is that it was a bit unpleasant, because there was no Jewish presence all the way up until N'vei Daniel. But now – we have done it! Jewish communities fill the land all the way up to Yerushalayim!

"I write these words with tears of excitement and emotion in my eyes at the privilege granted me to take part in this process. I believe with all my heart that the defenders of the Gush in 1948 are looking down at us now from above and singing the traditional pioneers' song, 'Shuru, habitu, ur'u – look around and take note how great is this day!'"

Rosental then thanked Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister Smotrich, former Gush Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne'eman, and the Tal family who have lived in the farm for several years. 

When the first Kfar Etzion pioneers moved in, they were 15 young men and women, and though hundreds of people joined in the initial ground-breaking celebration, by nightfall they barely had a minyan [ten men]. Today, however, the 22 (!) communities of Gush Etzion number 28,000 residents (!) – not including the 68,000 in the hareidi city of Beitar Illit or the 12,000 in Efrat. That comes out to well over 100,000 residents between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem. May they increase again and again!