Israel is facing a stark choice about its future. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant represents a critical role in the path it takes.
NEW YORK TIMES
Last month, Yoav Gallant told Israelis that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was leading the nation astray. Mr. Gallant, the defense minister and a member of the war cabinet, accused him of letting the nation drift into a military and civilian occupation of Gaza, which would cost Israel “blood and many victims, with no aim.” He challenged Mr. Netanyahu to rule that option out.
In a government known for ironclad loyalty to the prime minister, and in the heightened intensity of war, Mr. Gallant’s statement made headlines. It also made him into a two-time whistle-blower of sorts.
In March 2023, Mr. Gallant became the most prominent member of the governing coalition to publicly call for a halt to Mr. Netanyahu’s attempt to undermine the judiciary, an effort that he said was harming the country’s security. When Mr. Netanyahu tried to fire him, hundreds of thousands of protesting Israelis brought the country to a standstill, and Mr. Gallant became an instant symbol of a bulwark against what the protesters viewed as an autocratic putsch.
At both these moments, liberal Israelis have grasped at the possibility that Mr. Gallant could be a lifeline out of national perdition. They hoped his stance against the judicial reforms would embolden other coalition members to halt the process, or even topple the government. His more recent challenge of Mr. Netanyahu conveyed that he might take a stand against a government poised to fulfill the fantasies of its religious extremists, who would conquer and resettle Gaza, while transforming Israel unrecognizably.
In fact, neither of Mr. Gallant’s dramatic interventions have actually stopped the policies he criticized. He was, and continues to be, a key figure in the government that brought Israel to this point, a situation underscored last month when the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court called for his arrest on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including using starvation as a weapon of war. The prosecutor also sought warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and three Hamas leaders. The world’s international courts don’t see Yoav Gallant as a whistle-blower, but as an architect of Israel’s policies.
Israel is facing a stark choice about its future, and Mr. Gallant stands to play a critical role in the path it takes. Does he represent a genuine alternative to the populist leadership that is threatening to turn Israel into a pariah state, as he has seemed to in these key moments? Or, as his track record also suggests, does he in fact represent the status quo?
Many Israeli Jews hope Mr. Gallant will push Israel toward this alternate path.
The course of the war will also determine which path Israel eventually takes. On Friday, President Biden said he had endorsed a “comprehensive new proposal” by Israel for a cease-fire and hostage release, although the prospects for the plan are uncertain, as are the possible consequences of Biden’s proposals for the stability of Netanyahu’s coalition.
