Benjamin Netanyahu’s fourth term as prime minister, which is still in its infancy, began with two stinging failures in areas that are the apple of the premier’s eye. In the political-security realm, an agreement was reached between the six world powers and Iran, and on Wednesday Israel’s irresponsible and delusory notions of torpedoing the deal’s ratification by the U.S. Congress were buried for good. In the social-economic realm, the natural-gas framework accord, which Netanyahu treated with the same messianic fervor as he applied to Iran, is stuck deep beneath the ocean floor, with no salvation – or signature – in sight.

“Diplomatic sources” launched a self-justification campaign on Wednesday, claiming, in the name of the prime minister, that it was clear to them all along they wouldn’t be able to muster enough Democratic votes to defeat a Democratic president. It was simply important, these sources said, to express the Israeli position, loud and clear.

That claim doesn’t even show respect for the shopworn idea of “spin.” If the conclusion of the folly-ridden move was known in advance, why did Netanyahu invite himself so crassly to Congress two weeks before the election in Israel, in total disregard of President Barack Obama? And if the result was expected, why was the one-man wrecking crew known as Ron Dermer, Israel’s outgoing ambassador to Washington, sent to persuade Democratic members of the House and Senate to humiliate their president? If Netanyahu knew this would be the outcome, did he really have to plunge Israel’s relations with the White House to an unprecedented nadir with his reckless behavior?

Open gallery view Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (L) with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, July 27, 2015. Credit: Emil Salman

Similarly, on the gas issue, the story is not economic: It’s primarily political and also somewhat personal. Unlike previous prime ministers Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert or Yitzhak Rabin, Netanyahu is not liked by his coalition partners and they are not eager to help him. Was Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon really unable to compel his MKs to vote for the framework accord? Clearly, he could have, but he didn’t feel like it.

Could Economy Minister Arye Dery sign off on the gas accord, if the Knesset had approved it? Of course he could have. He didn’t want to, and the tremendous pressure exerted on him by Netanyahu only made him dig himself in deeper. At a meeting of the leaders of the coalition parties on Monday, he told Netanyahu, “You can fire me from the Economy Ministry and sign off on the framework yourself. Don’t worry, I will stay in the coalition.” Netanyahu didn’t swallow the bait. The people in Dery’s office did not respond to his comment, but Shas sources say there is no problem, “Bibi can take the economy, Negev and Galilee, and religious affairs ministries, and the seat on the Knesset Education Committee away from us. It’s fine.”

There has always been a large disparity between Netanyahu’s words and his deeds. That was shown again, in the cases of both Iran and the natural gas. What he can do now is submit the natural gas plan to the Knesset without asking for a vote, and “order” an examination for stiffening the punishment for people who throw stones and firebombs. If the Iranian nuclear project wasn’t scuttled, let’s at least vent our frustration on those kids in East Jerusalem.

Toasts and roasts

Some time ago, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan received an email from a joint forum of senior police officers and their retired colleagues, inviting him to attend an event on Tuesday toasting the upcoming Jewish New Year. These are the same retirees who lambasted Erdan last week for his appointment of Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch as the next police commissioner.

Open gallery view Minister Gilad Erdan. Credit: Michal Fattal

Erdan hadn’t planned to go: The atmosphere was too charged, the affronts hadn’t been forgotten – and he’s easily affronted. But on the way home, he told his chauffeur to take him to north Tel Aviv, where the event was being held. He didn’t know that just then, the ridiculous “emergency meeting” of former police commissioners and major generals, in which the old-timers shot themselves in the foot, was being held.

Erdan was received affably. It’s said of him that he will never pass up a good fight, but he came for reconciliation. He heaped praise on the “hundreds of years of experience” in the hall, and said he will be happy to learn from the veterans. Then other speakers also adopted a moderate tone, totally unlike their media statements. The meeting drew contradictory interpretations. The impression of Erdan’s aides was that his critics had understood they’d gone too far and wanted to turn a new leaf. But the impression gleaned by one of the participants was different, as reported in Haaretz the next day: “No one could miss the fact that Erdan realizes he was mistaken in his criticism against us He understands he can’t mess with this organization.”

Open gallery view Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch, whose appointment as new Israel Police chief is under fire. Credit: Alon Ron

The Gal Hirsch saga has only just begun. The Turkel committee, which vets senior civil service appointments, started its work this week. As did Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, who is looking into allegations about the behavior of Hirsch’s security firms in Georgia, whose government has submitted a request to question Hirsch. The 45-day extension of the term of acting police commissioner, Benzi Sau, will end in mid-October. Half of that period consists of holidays, the intermediate days of Sukkot and Sabbaths. It’s hard to believe the complex examination will end within that time frame. And then what? Another extension? Tell us another one.

Erdan, too, seemingly understands that another extension would be too much, even pathetic. He’s now considering whether to set a deadline: If the examination hasn’t concluded by then, he will inform Hirsch, regretfully, that he has to revoke his candidacy.

It’s true this farce has to end at some point, but Erdan is nervous. He can’t accept that a foreign government, by means of a formal procedure, can affect, delay or even scuttle a senior appointment in another country.

This week, Hirsch’s lawyer, who was delighted to find himself in the media spotlight, disappeared. Last week, he babbled on endlessly on every available television and radio station. At one point, he accused Maj. Gen. Meni Yitzhaki, the head of the police’s Investigations and Intelligence Division, of bringing extraneous motives to the probe of Hirsch (an accusation that was denied outright by the attorney general). Hirsch dissociated himself from his lawyer’s harmful remarks in a Facebook post after understanding, a little late, that the media arena is not a court of law.

There was also Netanyahu’s declaration of support on Monday for Hirsch as the right person in the right place. That should not made light of. It was chivalrous behavior by Netanyahu, who preferred others as candidates but was forced to agree to Erdan’s choice. He saw Erdan being roasted and knows that if the Hirsch appointment fails, Erdan will pay the full price. He, Netanyahu, will emerge – for once – untarnished and just. So why shouldn’t he display collegiality, even if it’s not so easy for him?

Ugly wave

Outgoing Yesh Atid MK Shay Piron didn’t even get to revel in the full 15 minutes of fame accorded to those who resign from the Knesset. That’s because Yisrael Beiteinu MK Sharon Gal knocked him out of the headlines on Wednesday with his own surprising resignation announcement. In a twinkling, the Knesset was deprived of two young lawmakers who left absolutely no imprint on it.

More accurately, where Piron’s contribution to the parliament is negligible, Gal’s is negative. He leaves behind an ugly wave (gal means wave in Hebrew) and a festering trail of verbal hooliganism and repressed violence tinged with racist slurs against “the Arabs,” combined with unrestrained, uninhibited vulgarity and gutter language.

There is little in common between these two gentlemen, apart from the disrespect they harbor for the Israeli legislature. Piron, who entered politics “to be education minister,” in his own words, was compelled to endure five long months before he was able to extricate himself from the affliction of the Knesset – which apparently is not tailored to his size. He plans to engage in educational activity in the Negev town of Sderot – a fine, upstanding, welcome initiative – but also to manage a college with a high-paying job; it’s a package deal.

His intention to resign the moment he found a suitable job was known to Yair Lapid. The Yesh Atid leader should be the first to feel affronted: Lapid has said repeatedly that in the next election, which he claims will be held in 2016, he will contest the premiership against Netanyahu. If Piron believed that, he would surely have waited a year or two and then returned, big-time, to the Education Ministry (which he held in the last government), as he promised the ministry staff during the last election campaign. “I’ll be right back,” he would tell them, and they would hide a smile.

Piron’s 18-month tenure as education minister will be remembered mainly for its frenetic, hyperactive character, and a flood of reforms, ideas and presentations – all of them bearing catchy names. Some say he left chaos behind. His experience was the opposite of what usually befalls new ministers: He entered a ministry fat and emerged thin (after weight-loss surgery). There’s no doubt he had good intentions. But the scorn for the Knesset that he’s broadcasting by leaving so soon – and after only two-and-a-half years of cumulative service – is the opposite of an educational act. Just six months ago he appeared in the No. 2 slot in the party list; during the election campaign it was not clear that his involvement was conditional. If the blackboard and chalk are so important to him, he could remain in the Knesset and volunteer teach on Mondays and Thursdays.

Gal, by contrast, didn’t even try to create an honorable outward appearance. He was recruited by party leader Avigdor Lieberman on election eve as the latest “talent.” Lieberman, who was under pressure because of the fraud investigation of senior figures in his party, didn’t have time to vet people closely, and this is what he dragged in. The Yisrael Beiteinu leader probably feels angry and frustrated at Gal’s resignation, which casts a shadow over the wisdom of his choice, but he’s not likely to regret the loss. On Wednesday, Lieberman was overheard explaining to surprised colleagues, “Sharon left for personal reasons.” Of course, we still remember the previous MKs in Lieberman’s party who behaved ingloriously and were ejected – notably Stas Misezhnikov, Esterina Tartman and Anastassia Michaeli. They were all his daughters and sons, and all were his failures.

Four months of parliamentary activity, if it can be called that, were enough for Gal, who is going back to hosting an economic program on an obscure niche television channel, but at a salary far higher than that of an MK. Anyone who wants to believe that the reason for his resignation is his disappointment or disillusionment at the impotence of prosaic legislative work, and that he will be “more influential” as a journalist, is free to do so. The Sisyphean character of the parliamentary work Gal complained about didn’t stop another member of his party, the industrious MK Orli Levi-Abekasis, from moving mountains to get good legislation passed. There are undoubtedly other reasons that prompted him to walk out.

Gal is one of many journalists who entered the Knesset in the past decade – parliament and politics has become a second-career choice for many senior media people. But the same thing that previously happened to senior figures from the defense establishment is now befalling journalists: Few succeed in reaching the top and becoming leaders who are able to influence and change things. They all come bearing a bloated bag of pretensions and a Titanic-sized ego, along with being opinionated and supercilious.

Gal is an extreme example of the unsuitability and pointlessness of this transition for some of those who made the leap. Others, such as Shelly Yacimovich, Yair Lapid, Merav Michaeli and Ofer Shelah, are at the other end of the scale. They forsook lengthy careers and entered politics in order to stay there for many years, no matter what the conditions or what the salary slip says. Gal went along for the ride.