Another day with Bibi
Translation: I can’t believe we went to sleep with Bibi and woke up with even more Bibi!
There was no point during Israel’s election campaign in which I believed I’d wake up to a morning without Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister.
While Israeli streets, social media and press were filled with criticism toward Bibi and dissatisfaction with the socioeconomic situation, a lack of real alternative leadership kept my expectations low.
With rent prices skyrocketing, the privatization of public services, ongoing discrimination issues and a deeply polarized Israeli society, we all needed a real alternative. But Isaac Herzog, the runner-up for prime minister, was brushed aside by many and was viewed as not charismatic.
Herzog also symbolized the same old Israeli politics we all already knew, one that represents the Jewish elite — the Ashkenazi (Jews who originated in Europe). He’s an upper-class man and a leader of a party with very little Arab representation, a party that had to add “Zionist” to its name to make sure no one would think it would make too much of a compromise, if any, in the imaginary scenario of a negotiation with Palestinians.
That didn’t smell like change to me, and it definitely didn’t seem like change to young Israelis from all sides of the political spectrum who are tired of Netanyahu but can’t seem to find anyone who’ll fill the leadership void. Several initiatives led the call to “replace him” but failed to suggest any feasible alternative.
One of the main initiatives campaigning under this tagline is V15, a Tel Aviv-based group made up of young millennial activists. On election day, they recruited around 7,500 campaigners — more than any political party — to roam the streets with trendy bags and colorful balloons. They changed their profile pictures on Facebook and shared witty anti-Netanyahu videos all in the hopes of driving votes away from Bibi.
I followed them around as I covered elections in Tel Aviv and wondered — did they really think three months of calling to “replace him” would be enough in a country where a much deeper social and political change is needed?
“No one can replace Netanyahu,” said Jackie, 38, from Jaffa, when I asked him about his hopes for the day after the elections. “I want him replaced, but there’s no other leader in Israeli politics today.”
And so, instead of casting a clear anti-Netanyahu vote for one of the bigger parties, many chose to vote for smaller parties that focus more on socioeconomic issues and work to promote their voters’ interests from within the Knesset (Israeli Parliament).
We all woke up today to a reality not much different than yesterday. The short hope some had in the last couple of weeks is now replaced by the understanding that in order to see a real change in local politics, the opposition needs to work on providing an alternative that people would actually want to vote for. Hopefully, with the Arab Joint List now being the third-biggest party, such an alternative will no longer exclude the Palestinian citizens of Israel.
And if the opposition parties can present a clear and formidable competitor to Netanyahu, perhaps one day Israelis will wake up to a new prime minister.
