Scientists around the world, including in Israel, are working hard to discover a cure, or at least a vaccine, for the coronavirus. But what about the virus known as politics? That virus has been around since Adam and Eve and the snake in the Garden of Eden, as well as with their sons Cain and Abel. For weeks, it looked like Israeli politicians across the political spectrum were so infected by the virus of politics that they were putting it ahead of dealing with the coronavirus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave one indication after another that he was seeking a fourth Israeli election in under a year and a half. He even invited the Likud’s constitution committee to meet next week to cancel the automatic Likud leadership race. Blue and White leader Benny Gantz also appeared to be living in the world that existed before anyone had heard of COVID-19, as he moved full speed ahead with his plans to head a minority government backed from outside the coalition by the Joint List. Neither the rebellion in Blue and White of MKs Yoaz Hendel and Tzvi Hauser, nor the quieter opposition of Blue and White cockpit member Gabi Ashkenazi, nor the betrayal of MK Orly Levy-Abecassis stopped Gantz from moving forward with the idea. But Thursday, it appeared that the political virus had finally begun to lose its power, as party head after party head endorsed forming a “national emergency government.” The list of leaders calling for unity even included those who did not have a personal political interest in such a government. Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman said the government should include only ministers of Likud and Blue and White. Netanyahu invited Gantz to talk about an emergency government. Gantz accepted the request, and while he conditioned it on all eight factions in the Knesset joining a wide coalition, including the Joint List, a yes is a yes. The talks between Netanyahu and Gantz will determine whether they have indeed been cured, at least temporarily, of the virus of politics and are now ready to focus entirely on dealing with that other virus that has been in the news.
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