Seeking to cover all bases, Netanyahu eyes Kahane disciple

Recently, the most talked-about person in the Prime Minister’s Office and at the official residence on Balfour Street has been a far-right activist who made his name in demonstrations supporting the radical teachings of ultra-nationalist politician Rabbi Meir Kahane.

Itamar Ben Gvir gained notoriety in street riots and provocations in public squares, in clashes with police, and by trading barbs with judges.

He has never bothered to hide his extremist views – on the contrary. Last Friday, this reporter saw him address a crowd at the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem. “I won’t compromise on my ideology,” he declared to the audience’s cheers. “You are the only one who will wage war,” they called out to him with admiration.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently hinging much of his political and personal future on a man who once tore the emblem off Yitzhak Rabin’s car and pledged, “We can get to him, too.”

The fact that Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party is edging toward the 3.25 percent electoral threshold (according to a Sunday poll by Channel 13 news he is currently at 2.8%) has caused tremendous excitement among Netanyahu’s associates.

The possibility that Ben Gvir could provide Netanyahu with the 61st seat he needs to form a government has made Ben Gvir nothing short of a VIP in some Likud circles, and until the elections, he has reason to hope that Netanyahu and his ministers will be treating him with kid gloves.

Those close to Netanyahu subscribe to two schools of thought with respect to Ben-Gvir.

The first is led by Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and her confidant Nathan Eshel. Sara Netanyahu wants Ben Gvir to pass the electoral threshold as that will achieve a goal beyond simply securing the 61st seat: Ben Gvir will offset Knesset seats Yamina party leader Ayelet Shaked could potentially win, thus undermining her power and depriving her of essentially having veto power on every move the prime minister tries to make as she tries to out-right him.

“Shaked won’t hold all the cards, which is what we care about the most,” said a source close to the prime minister’s wife.

For now, the prime minister and many of his advisers subscribe to another school of thought, the one aspiring to see Ben Gvir withdraw from the race. Still, recent media reports suggest that Netanyahu could be inclined to change his mind.

“Netanyahu thought he would sit down with Ben Gvir for eight hours, after sitting with [Zehut chairman Moshe] Feiglin for seven hours; but this is a different situation,” one associate said, referring to the deal in which Feiglin agreed not to run in exchange for a cabinet seat and a reform of the medical marijuana industry.

Netanyahu fears right-wing votes being wasted by going to small parties that attract support, but ultimately don’t cross the threshold.

What may happen until the September 17 elections is that Netanyahu could endorse some of Ben Gvir’s campaign issues, thus essentially encouraging Ben Gvir’s potential voters to cast their ballots in favor of Otzma Yehudit. On Tuesday, Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu was trying to get a Hasidic sect to endorse Ben Gvir’s party.

“Netanyahu won’t go against them but rather with then,” the associate told Zman Yisrael, the Hebrew sister site of The Times of Israel. “For example, we know the most important thing for Ben Gvir is judicial reform. He’s been fighting the [legal] system his entire life. Netanyahu doesn’t exactly have too much confidence in it either, as everyone knows. Now they can push the same campaign message.”

In other words, expect Ben Gvir-inspired texts in the Likud election campaign.

Behind closed doors, Netanyahu talks about 37-38 seats for the Likud – a significant leg up on challenger Blue and White, which is projected to win 30-32 – and the kind of election win that, if it comes to pass, won’t allow Reuven Rivlin, Netanyahu’s presidential foe, the opportunity to task Blue and White co-leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid with forming the government.

Apart from Ben Gvir, Netanyahu is looking to two other sources for salvation: Washington and the Israeli “periphery”.

US President Donald Trump is preparing to give Netanyahu a pre-election boost, at least according to Netanyahu’s close associates. The question now is what step or statement Netanyahu will be able to get his devoted ally in Washington to make.

On Sunday, Netanyahu opened the school year in the West Bank settlement of Elkana and declared that Israel will apply its sovereignty to Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, the biblical term for the West Bank. Tourism Minister Yariv Levin added: “We have an opportunity for a historic move with the [US] administration. We don’t have to convince the president of the importance of Israeli sovereignty over the communities here.”

There have been past reports saying that Netanyahu was working to realize such a presidential declaration, which may sway many right-wing voters the Likud’s way. On Monday, Haaretz reported that Trump may announce a defense alliance between Israel and the United States before the election. Any such assistance is welcome, and no one in the Likud will complain that a foreign power is interfering in the elections.

As for the periphery, on Tuesday, Netanyahu traveled to Kiryat Ata, a development town near Haifa. The day before that, he met with heads of Judea and Samaria communities at his home, and on Wednesday he visited Hebron. Netanyahu’s objective is to dramatically increase voter turnout, especially in the periphery. “Go vote,” he pleaded with 1,000 activists who came out to hear him in Kiryat Ata.

Last week, Netanyahu met with mayors affiliated with the Likud. Lod Mayor Yair Revivo argued at the meeting that half of the party’s supporters in the periphery don’t even vote.

“I found many reasons why people don’t go to the polls, and this mostly happens with Likud supporters. If 20% of [Likud voters in] Afula, Dimona, Mitzpe Ramon, Lod and all the development towns show up, we’ll have another 200,000 votes, and we’ll secure the victory,” said Revivo.

Netanyahu heard this, repeated it several times, and decided to travel across Israel himself, visiting a different distant location every day. He canceled a trip to India to motivate voters in the northern Israeli town of Beit She’an, for example. After all, he can go for a walk on the beach with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and let the water lap at his feet on any other day. But without the voters in the periphery towns, he may drown.