Oops, we did it again
Ari Shavit analyzes the expected failure of liberals in the 2026 elections: five weeks before judgment day, liberals have not internalized that Israelis have shifted strongly to the right, did not unite, and did not place a enlightened right-wing leader at their helm. Netanyahu succeeded in separating Eisenkot, Bennett, and Lieberman, and the correction bloc dropped from 61 seats to 52-55. Shavit calls for an emergency summit.
Ari Shavit analyzes the expected failure of liberals in the 2026 elections, five weeks before judgment day. According to him, liberals were complacent, smug, and arrogant, did not internalize that Israelis have shifted strongly to the right, and did not place an enlightened right-wing leader at their helm. Netanyahu employed a three-stage strategy: increasing Eisenkot to eliminate Bennett and Lieberman, reducing Eisenkot, and finally adding him to a broad coalition. The correction bloc dropped from 60-61 seats when led by Bennett to 52-55 seats under Eisenkot alone. Shavit states that liberals did not learn the lesson from 2009 and 2022, did not unite, did not project strength, and did not formulate a winning Zionist narrative. He calls for an emergency summit between Eisenkot, Bennett, and Lieberman to form a united government, and warns that if Eisenkot remains the sole candidate, he may become Bibi's precious mineral. The column reflects a sense of impending disaster and a desperate call for unity in the center-left bloc.