When a leader or head of state hides, flees, or enters a bunker, it signifies an act expressing fear of enemies or the mob - an action that indicates shame, perhaps a loss of the perpetrator's grit. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar did this somewhere in a tunnel in Rafah; Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has done it and has been hiding in a bunker in Beirut for years; and now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has joined this ignoble group, and he is probably in a bunker in Jerusalem, Caesarea, or who knows where. But he went further and timed his disappearance for the most important day for the people of Israel, Independence Day.
Someone must ask the tough questions:
Does Netanyahu recognize the loss of independence? Does he know something we don't? Is the Prime Minister collapsing, scared, desperate, sick, or maybe - all of the above are correct?
The 76th Independence Day of the State of Israel was tough and highlighted the challenge of being Israeli against the backdrop of an illogical reality. The difficulty's core was on October 7, but the foundations were there long before, for many years.
Expressions of the nation's shaky state echo at every junction across the country, and in recent days, they have also slipped into Memorial Day ceremonies and military cemeteries: ministers in the government were received with jeers, breaks, and anger, and the peak occurred during the Independence Day ceremony, which resembled an embarrassing event from North Korea—a pre-recorded, engineered ceremony without an audience or emotion.
The gap between the people and the leadership is sharply evident. On the one hand, there are stories of the bravery of citizens representing all the good, education, settlement, and courage; on the other hand, the soul's disgust with the failed, sick, and absent leadership is biting.
This issue needs to spare the security leadership. Although most of them—the Chief of Staff, the head of the Shin Bet, and the IDF generals—are intelligent and brave, they too act as if they have failed and managed like a "black monkey" is sitting on their shoulders. Their judgment, despite their high capabilities, is questioned every day. In this situation, the public needs to trust that the security leadership is making the best decisions.
The political leadership fails miserably every day, and the evidence is scattered throughout every Israeli home. The hostages in Gaza - 132 adults, women, young people, children, and an infant are there, and no one is deciding; there is no clear plan for war while they are ending their lives. Israeli people, men, women, soldiers - are stuck there and here, and no one is deciding anything. Countless practical questions have been hanging in the air for over seven months: What will we do in Gaza the day after? What is the policy regarding the displaced from the north and south? Will they ever return to their homes? Will they abandon their fields, and will the wheat never grow again?
Political and security shake-up must occur for situation to change
For the situation to change, an immediate political and security shake-up must occur. As of yesterday, since the law sets 90 days for new elections, the Knesset must legislate the Election Law. There is no escape. Someone must do it.
The Knesset session will open in a few days, and these are the steps that somebody must take immediately:National Unity Ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot will resign from the government (despite Netanyahu's attempt to tempt Gantz by adopting his draft law from the previous Knesset).
The composition of the government will change, and National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) will join the war cabinet.
The Chief of Staff, the commander of the Southern Command, the head of the Operations Division, the commander of Unit 8200, and other commanders responsible for the disaster of October 7 will resign from their positions. The head of the Shin Bet will resign from his position.
Protests across the country for the government's and Prime Minister's resignations.
The Histadrut, Israel's trade union, will strike the economy until an election date is set within 90 days.
Blocking main roads and highways, and a strike near the Knesset in Jerusalem.
The opposition, with Gantz and former minister Gideon Saar (New Hope Party), will submit a bill to dissolve the Knesset.
And finally: Dissolution of the Knesset.
This is the plan, with complete transparency and necessity. These steps must be fully implemented, as everything else is already waiting and will wait a little longer until the leadership ranks are sorted.
No one else will do the job. We must take the initiative, move forward, and start acting immediately.
The author is a businessman and political consultant who was formerly the Director General of the Prime Minister's Office during Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's second term.