Last week saw the dramatic collapse of the “Blue and White” alliance of centrist Knesset parties. The three factions that made up the list–Israel Resilience, Yesh Atid and Telem–were bound by an overriding and irrational hatred for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But evidently, the just-not-Bibi glue that held them together wasn’t strong enough.

Benny Gantz, the head of Israel Resilience and leader of the combined “Blue and White” list, said his unexpected decision to join Netanyahu and break up the centrist alliance was due to the threat of the coronavirus. But some think that was just an excuse.

An impossible choice

Rabbi and columnist Moti Karpel wrote that the real reason for Gantz’s shocking about-face was that he had been forced to make a choice between heading a minority government that would be reliant on the outside backing of the anti-Zionist Joint Arab List, and playing second fiddle in a Zionist government lead by a man for whom he has no respect.

Yair Lapid and Moshe Yaalon–leaders of the...

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