Herzog: I will be Israel’s next prime minister

Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog declared that he would become Israel’s next prime minister after the March 2015 elections by leading a centrist bloc that would defeat Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli public “trusts me,” said Herzog on Friday, calling this “one of my virtues,” and beating Netanyahu is “feasible,” he insisted.

Netanyahu is expected to partner with Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, the economy minister, and the ultra-Orthodox parties, in trying to forge his a government after the elections.

Herzog is courting the recently fired justice minister and Hatnua leader Tzipi Livni, and others including Kadima party head Shaul Mofaz, to form an alliance ahead of the March 17 vote.

Speaking at the Saban Forum in Washington, DC, Friday night, Herzog joked that he warned his wife he would be “investing in some couplehood with Tzipi over the weekend.” Livni, Herzog and other Israeli politicians were in Washington to participate in the annual gathering of politicians, academics, business leaders and journalists.

Livni is reported to have responded: “Great, as long as there’s another prime minister.”

Hatnua head Tzipi Livni and leader of the opposition Isaac Herzog at the Knesset on November 12, 2014 (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)

During his address, moderated by journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, the Labor chairman and opposition leader expressed confidence that he would form the next government and “lead Israel in a different direction.”

“I’m here to break this notion that Netanyahu and the Likud is [sic] unbeatable,” he charged.

“We [in Labor] believe that we should have a front, running together, of forces. Clearly, Tzipi Livni is a very distinguished Israeli leader and I would like very much to be able to join forces with her and her party, with other parties in the center,” he said.

Leaders of centrist parties must come together and present a clear, unequivocal alternative to Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog said.

Vetting a question about Yisrael Beytenu leader and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, Herzog did not dismiss forming a coalition that would include him.

“It’s a coalitions game,” Herzog said matter-of-factly. “For me, all partners are possible, from [leftist party] Meretz to Liberman’s party. The Arabs [in the Knesset’s Arab parties] themselves always say they don’t want to go into a coalition, but like in [assassinated prime minister Yitzhak] Rabin’s coalition, they may be supported from outside.”

Goldberg addressed sentiments expressed in the Israeli press and by some in the Israeli public that Herzog was known as a “non-charismatic figure” — to which Herzog retorted “thank you” — and asked him about his “barriers to [his] success among the Israeli voters.”

“Voters have to be able to trust in me and this is what I’m focusing on,” Herzog answered, skirting the unflattering charge.

“I’m not going to chicken out,” he joked, referencing Goldberg’s recent article that cited an Obama Administration official calling Netanyahu “chickenshit.”

Goldberg retorted, laughing, “That’s not the exact expression, but you’re close.”

Turning to the issue of the stalled peace process, Herzog said he had no illusions but was not willing to give up efforts to achieve a two-state solution with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority ended in late April after Abbas signed a unity pact with Hamas. Netanyahu has refused to continue negotiations with a Palestinian government that rests on the support of a terror group.

The number one hinderance to peace is the lack of trust and discourse between the leaders, Herzog said, indicating that he has a good rapport with the PA president.

“My settlement policy is based on the famous [Clinton] parameters,” Herzog said, in reference to the guidelines presented by the former US president which call for a Palestinian state in 95% of the West Bank, the Israeli annexation of the settlement blocs, and a divided Jerusalem as the capital for both Israel and a future Palestine.

“The situation is so devastating because of the feeling of lack of hope, the feeling of despair. Most worrisome is the unleashing of feelings of religious hatred that is so dangerous to all of us,” he said in reference to the tensions surrounding the Temple Mount and the spate of terror attacks that have claimed the lives of nearly a dozen Israelis since mid-October.

Herzog’s full remarks can be found here. Herzog begins speaking at the 21:30 minute mark.

Bennett is expected to speak at the Saban Forum later Saturday in a talk moderated by former US envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Martin Indyk. US Vice President Joe Biden is also set to speak on Saturday.

On Friday, Channel 10 reported that Livni and Herzog discussed the possibility of running together over the past few days. According to the report, Livni would get the number two spot on the list and two more seats for party members Amram Mitzna and Amir Peretz among the top 10.

A Globes poll gave a Labor-Hatnua alliance 24 seats, Channel 10 said.

Herzog posted a picture on Facebook of himself and Livni before the flight, which set off the rumor mill Friday.

Earlier Friday, an NRG report indicated that Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz was set to join the Labor Party.

Shaul Mofaz at a Jerusalem press conference in January 2013 (photo credit: Flash90)

According to the report, Mofaz had met with Herzog, who promised him a place in the top five spots on the Labor Party’s list. Mofaz reportedly demanded another spot on the list for a candidate of his choice, but did not receive it.

An agreement is expected to be signed soon. Mofaz is a former IDF chief of staff, who previously served as a defense minister in the Likud party.

Meanwhile, both the Haaretz and Yisrael Hayom dailies reported Friday that Netanyahu has not yet completely given up on the idea of assembling an alternative coalition, and avoiding altogether the elections he publicly called for. The Knesset will on Monday pass the second and third readings of the bill to dissolve itself, with elections set for March 17, but both papers quoted anonymous sources claiming Netanyahu was trying to avoid that process.

Yisrael Hayom quoted ultra-Orthodox officials saying they had been approached to join a new coalition, preempting elections. The paper also asserted that Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, hitherto opposed to such alliances, may be changing his mind.

For its part, Haaretz quoted opposition sources insisting Netanyahu is seeking to build a new coalition and avoid elections. “I have no doubts that up until the last moment, Netanyahu will try to forge an alternative coalition rather than going to elections,” a senior Yesh Atid member told the paper. “Netanyahu has the opportunity to remain in his position for three years without elections, so why would he risk losing his reign, and embark on this dangerous adventure?”

There was no confirmation of any of these reports. And Liberman was quoted late Thursday ruling out any such coalition.

In other election news, Jewish Home and the Likud were said to have signed a “surplus votes” agreement Friday — to ensure that no votes cast for the two parties would be lost when the Knesset seats are allocated after elections under Israel’s system of pure proportional representation.

According to reports, Livni was also fielding an offer from Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid, who proposed giving Livni and her colleagues four spots on his party’s list.

Lapid and Livni were sacked as finance minister and justice minister, respectively, on Tuesday, moments before Netanyahu announced that he would move to dissolve the Knesset and go to elections.

On Wednesday, the Knesset approved the first reading of a bill to dissolve itself, and party leaders set new elections for March 17.

Netanyahu alleged that he was forced to end the coalition because Lapid and Livni had attempted a “putsch.” This was denied by both ministers. Lapid said Netanyahu’s allegation was “an absurdity.“