Why Bibi Netanyahu is Israel's Candidate of "Hope"

February’s election results in Israel, barring any unforeseen circumstances, are pretty much a done deal: Benjamin Netanyahu will be prime minister (thank G-d.) In my opinion, two moments decided this election. One was when former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon joined the Likud. Ya’alon is also the author of a bestselling book, The Long, Short Way, full of shocking revelations about the inside workings of the army under the straitjacket dictated by politicians desperate to show the failing Oslo Accords were working. For having had the courage to tell politicians that the emperor was naked, Ya’alon was fired. Now the public wants him back.

The second critical juncture was the army’s disgraceful storming of “Peace House” in Hebron under the orders of Minister of Defense Ehud Barak. This ongoing legal dispute of ownership could have been handled in many ways. The Supreme Court didn’t ask for the Jewish inhabitants to vacate until it made its decision. But showing the same sleazy skills that made him offer to give Jerusalem to Yasir Arafat, Barak decided to shore up his popularity ratings with the left once again, by beating up and dragging out as many “settler” teenagers as possible. The result was disgusting and heartbreaking.

In the aftermath of the spectacular disengagement debacle, the country is still reeling, filled with disenfranchised and bitter youngsters who are a keg of dynamite. An intelligent leader would have defused the situation by getting them to leave peaceably once the Supreme Court issued its ruling, and left them alone until then. Instead, Barak lit the fuse, proving he has learned nothing from his mistakes.

The elections in Israel in some strange way are going to be a mirror image of what happened in America. It might be argued that Americans voted for a candidate who promised to bring home troops from a war begun in the aftermath of a terror attack, who promised to speak to Islamic fundamentalists without pre-condition and basically to give peace a chance.

Israelis have been there, done that. The Oslo Accords rested on much the same principles: the idea that you have to speak to your enemies, and that with enough dialogue, negotiation and good will, even historic disagreements can be settled without resorting to bloodshed. As Yitzhak Rabin said before the historic handshake on the White House lawn, “We have no desire for revenge. We harbor no hatred towards you. We, like you, are people who want to build a home, to plant a tree, to love, to live side by side with you, in dignity, empathy as human beings. We are today giving peace a chance.”

We all know what happened next: This new approach, this “change,” unleashed hell on earth for Israelis.

Before the last Israeli elections, in which Netanyahu was soundly defeated, I remember sitting at a table at the Herzliya Conference next to a portly well-dressed businessman waiting to hear Netanyahu speak. I asked whom he was planning to vote for.

“Kadima,” he replied, taking his finger and making a vertical line in the air, “because they are right in the middle.”

“Why would you say that?” I challenged him, flabbergasted.

He had, of course, no answer.

From the start, the Kadima party was all empty slogans. The very name means “Forward! After me!” It assumes there is some plan, some direction, some leadership. Kadima was the opposite. It was a mishmash of the conflicting ideologies that characterized its short reign: A tough-talking Ehud Olmert entered into a war in Lebanon, and a weak-kneed, left-leaning Tzipi Livni engineered a hasty and ignominious retreat. Both decisions, brought about by inexperience and stupidity, left Israel damaged and weakened.

Kadima’s twin sister, the Labor Party, has also reached bankruptcy with the public. Aside from giving away more land for no visible benefits, Labor is bereft of an agenda. Even Amos Oz, Labor’s spiritual guru for decades, said recently, “The Labor Party has ended its historic role.” I never agree with Oz, one of my favorite authors, on politics, but on that, I do. How many times can you convince the Israeli voter to buy the same used car when he knows it won’t start again every time you stop for a red light?

This leaves the field open for Netanyahu, who is hated by the liberal establishment, including the media, but is truly the people’s choice. He saved Israel’s economy. He was never tainted by the land-for-peace debacle. He never shook Arafat’s hand. He is an expert on terrorism, and people believe that he would have the guts to take the necessary actions against Iran’s nuclear threat. This is even more important now that the U.S. will be led by a man who might not.

Unlike Americans, Israelis do not perceive this as a time to allow neophytes like Livni to practice their skills. Besides, no one likes her. She’s considered a traitor to her political values. Having started off as a right-wing Likud member, she switched to the left for undetermined reasons. She is perceived as arrogant and opportunistic. In one of the rare instances that I agree with the Haredim, I too wanted her picture taken off the posters for Kadima. Not because she’s a woman, but because she’s Tzipi. She’s no Golda.

With Netanyahu back at the helm, a feeling of optimism will return to many of us in Israel—the hope that the insanity of the Oslo years of self-delusion are finally over.