Benny Gantz is courting right-leaning political figures in a bid to keep his Blue and White party alive, drawing accusations that he is positioning himself to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel’s next election.
Gantz, whose centrist party has fallen below the electoral threshold in recent polls, is close to an agreement to merge his slate with at least two candidates who have announced plans to run: retired Brig. Gen. Dedi Simchi, a former fire and rescue commissioner, and economist Prof. Yaron Zelekha, people familiar with the talks said Saturday. They said the negotiations were serious and could produce an alliance in the coming days.
In a statement, Gantz’s office said he was speaking with political leaders who share his call to “put an end to boycotts and the war between blocs” and form “a broad Zionist government without extremists” after the election.
The statement said Gantz was in contact with Simchi, former finance minister Moshe Kahlon, former lawmaker Yoaz Hendel, former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch, Likud lawmaker Yuli Edelstein, Zelekha and groups outside parliament, including reservist movements and mayors from northern and southern Israel.
“The names mentioned are only a small part of the leaders with whom Gantz is speaking and holding contacts to establish the bloc of the people of Israel,” his office said.
But the strongest prospect for Gantz appears to be Simchi, who announced last month that he was entering politics. Simchi had been seen as a potential candidate for an explicitly right-wing party, but he has met and spoken with Gantz in recent days about leading a party that would not rule out joining a Netanyahu government if the anti-Netanyahu bloc fails to form the next coalition.
That position has sharpened criticism from Netanyahu’s opponents, who say Gantz’s outreach to figures on the Israeli right shows he has already pivoted away from the opposition camp and is preparing to serve as a bridge back to Netanyahu.
“Gantz is linking with Netanyahu proxies,” one figure in the anti-Netanyahu bloc said. “He has never denied that he would join a Netanyahu government, and this is part of his move to join Netanyahu after the election.”
Gantz has long promoted the idea of a broad unity government, arguing that Israel needs a coalition that avoids both the hard right and the hard left. He believes that recruiting figures who support that message could make him a central player in the election without fully identifying with either Netanyahu’s camp or the anti-Netanyahu “bloc for change,” from which he has increasingly distanced himself.
“Anyone who shares the idea Gantz has been presenting for a very long time is welcome to join,” a person close to him said. “Our goal is to unite centrist elements that share the idea of forming a broad Zionist unity government.”
People close to Simchi did not deny the talks. “Simchi is initiating a major move with other players to establish the bloc of the people of Israel, which will force unity,” they said. “Israel after the election must have unity. It is an existential necessity, and therefore he is initiating, leading and meeting with relevant players.”