Learning lesson from April, Blue and White not celebrating… yet

Apparently applying the lesson they learned from the April 9 election night — during which exit polls showed Blue and White ahead of Likud, prompting party leader Benny Gantz to prematurely declare victory — staffers and activists with the centrist party react with a whiff of skepticism to the release of the exit polls at 10 p.m.

Spokespeople for party leader Benny Gantz are not immediately answering reporters’ requests for comments.

The activists and party staffers at Tel Aviv’s Hangar 11 respond to the first exit poll, by Channel 12, with some clapping but no great cheers, despite projecting Blue and White as the largest party. As the second exit poll, by Channel 13, also has the party in the lead, a handful of activists shout “woohoo,” but moments later the DJ in the hall starts playing music again, and the volume of cheering in the hall decreases again.

— Raphael Ahren