National emergency government is a must

We should all pray that this time, unity negotiation will be taken seriously by everyone involved. A national emergency government formed by the two major parties is no longer just an option – it’s the only option.

By Nadav Shragai, ISRAEL HAYMOM

After three election campaigns, it is very clear that there are no winners here, only losers. The rift between the various sections of society is growing wider by the day, and we seem to be consumed by hatred and belligerence. But now, it’s no longer our social fabric and collective spirit that are in danger, it’s our very existence.

It is clear to all that the crisis sparked by the coronavirus will get worse before it gets better and it will exact a heavy price on the economy, the healthcare system, the job market and more – to say nothing of the potential cost in human lives.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz have to look at each other – and reality – in the eye, relinquish any vows, set aside personal animosity, and forget they have egos. The end (chairing the ruling party) can no longer justify the means. Anyone who places petty politics about all else at a time like this clearly doesn’t have Israel’s best interest at heart.

Our politicians have bewitched us somehow, dragging us deep into their personal and ideological rivalries. And while this rivalry has a time and place now is not the time or the place. There is simply too much at stake.

Gantz needs to let go of the fact Netanyahu will soon be facing criminal charges. Some 2.5 million voters knew that and still voted from the right-wing bloc. Netanyahu, for his part, has to understand that there are good and dedicated individuals outside the bloc and that the Left is just as anxious as the Right.

Now is the time to find the common denominator, and it is wide enough. Now is the time to join and begin healing the wounds created by the ongoing political stalemate and those we know the coronavirus will inflict.

The new government should be a limited-term emergency government. To call it a “unity government” will be disingenuous, but it may be that out of this crisis and the forced unity imposed on all of us, true unity will come.

Netanyahu must be prime minister first in any rotation agreement despite his pending trial – his experience and status have earned him as much. The inexperienced Gantz can only benefit from that as it will allow him the time to mature in his parliamentary role before he is named the PM.

History has designated President Reuven Rivlin with the important role of forcing the parties to cooperate. Rivlin is no novice politician. He knows a thing or two about how to get things done.

The emergency government need only basic agreements among the parties to be installed. A year or two from now we may hold another election, but by then, we may also learn a thing or to about doing things differently.