The Iranian threat is not an election gimmick. We have had more than enough political gimmicks. But this is not one of them. Not this time. For months, the pressure campaign against Iran has failed to produce the desired results. Perhaps more time is needed.
But that is precisely the time Iran is using, according to intelligence assessments, to rearm and grow stronger. The Iranian people may be approaching the brink of starvation, but that has not stopped the race toward nuclear weapons or the production of missiles.
President Isaac Herzog welcomes US President Donald Trump at Ben-Gurion Airport
(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Despite the endless contradictions in U.S. President Donald Trump's statements, the possibility of another military strike is drawing closer. Perhaps it will come only after November 3, the date of the U.S. midterm elections. Perhaps it will happen in the coming days. Trump needs Israel's cooperation. But Israel held elections just two days ago, and the results threaten to produce a political deadlock. For a brief moment, after the exit polls were released, it appeared that the opposition's change bloc could form a government without any of the parties belonging to the right-wing bloc. It even seemed that such an outcome might be an excellent one. But the actual results point to a tie.
Netanyahu cannot form a coalition, even though he somewhat surprisingly managed to secure the largest number of seats for Likud. Neither can the change bloc. A coalition supported by Ra'am, the Islamist Arab party, might have been possible, and even that would have been difficult. But a coalition dependent on Balad is out of the question. Some of the statements made by leaders of the Joint List following the election results only demonstrate that figures like Itamar Ben-Gvir exist not only on the Jewish side of Israeli politics, but on the Arab side as well. Those who refuse to accept Ben-Gvir cannot depend on a party effectively controlled, even from outside the Knesset, by Sami Abu Shehadeh.
But the Iranian threat cannot wait for another election, nor can it wait through long weeks of coalition negotiations. Confronting it requires a somewhat more united Israel. Trump is not the only one who needs that unity. Israel needs it too. This is not what the change bloc wanted. It is not what the right-wing bloc wanted either. But the election results have created circumstances that leave very few alternatives.
The problem is that Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot will struggle to do what has become unavoidable, even in the face of the Iranian threat. And this is precisely the moment when we need an adult in the room. This time, there are two: the presidents of Israel and the United States. One does not have to be an enthusiastic admirer of Trump to understand that he needs Israel to be a reliable partner, with a stable government. But Israel also needs Trump to help break the political deadlock. President Isaac "Bougie" Herzog is the natural partner for such an effort.
This is not about politics. It is not about dividing the spoils of power or distributing ministerial positions. The struggle against Iran is an existential one. Deep political disagreements must be set aside for another day. The existential threat takes precedence over everything else. So, with all due respect to the many legitimate reasons each political camp has for opposing the other, those disagreements pale in comparison with the fact that Iran is rearming and, in all likelihood, continuing its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
No, Israel is not a banana republic. We do not want American interference in Israeli politics. Trump's public support for Netanyahu was jarring and unnecessary. But when it comes to an existential threat, Israel depends on the United States. And what Netanyahu and Eisenkot will struggle to understand, precisely because they are politicians, President Herzog understands. Trump and Herzog can, and should, lead Israel toward a unity government. First, we must deal with the Iranian threat. Then, and only then, can we return to arguing over everything else, all the issues that, for now, have become secondary. There is no guarantee that Trump and Herzog will succeed. But under the circumstances, we should pray that they do.