JEWISH WORLD

24 JEWISH WORLD • APRIL 12-18, 2024 Lieberman continued from page 4 endary achievements before they entered politics. Each can look in the mirror, proud of the good lives they’ve made for themselves and our nation. Each must take respon- sibility to help send Bibi home and start a national reset – even during this fraught period. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, 65, has taken baby steps – defy- ing Netanyahu during the judicial reform while insisting that more haredim serve. The others have betrayed us with their silence. Where is former Je- rusalem mayor and hi-tech pioneer Nir Barkat, 64, who’s been repeat- edly humiliated by Netanyahu? What’s he waiting for? Where is Avi Dichter, 71, a brave former Shin Bet director, who devoted his life to Israel’s security? Where is the for- mer Prisoner of Zion, and one of my heroes, Yuli Edelstein, 65? Hav- ing defied the the Soviet Union and KGB, does he really want to be re- membered as being cowed by Bibi? And what about Shalom Danino, 68, an air force veteran and real es- We all must wake up every morning, look in the mirror, and not sell our souls to a ailing a ailing, failing leader. defied Clinton probably helped. He had already made it. He knew who he was. He still had ambitions – and unexpected triumphs ahead. But he had reached that life stage when doing right becomes more important than clawing ahead. JudaismValues elders as “the com- munity’s eyes.” They see that it’s not worth living long if you can’t live right. But elders must give voice to their wisdom, speaking uncomfort- able truths when the nation needs it. Israel faces a multifront war, inter- national hatred, and domestic unrest, from a vicious hyper-partisanship, Left and Right, to mass draft evasion by haredim amid a soldier shortage. Benjamin Netanyahu’s massive, ev- er-growing, credibility deficit mag- nifies each crisis. T he turnaround has been stun- ning, justifying term limits. Mr. Security became Mr. Insecuri- ty. The backroom dealmaker can’t even close easy deals with haredi parties to at least start guarding their own. This leader who wor- ships Churchill has been un-Chur- chillian, dismissive, divisive, de- fensive – and offensive. He offers no public leadership – no construc- tive vision, meaningful updates, or effective rallying cries. And the master diplomat, the silver-tongued strategist who boasted about charm- ingAmericans, American Jews, and the world, now repels them. Israelis confuse the world: most support Netanyahu’s call for a Rafah invasion but won’t criticize those hostage families demanding an im- mediate deal. That same superma- jority wants Bibi gone, the protests to end, and the hostage families to demonstrate abroad, not at home. I wince whenever thoughtful Is- raelis claim Bibi is dithering mili- tarily to avoid elections. Even if untrue – as I hope – one wise friend observes that the claim’s popularity proves the intensity of the mistrust. I fear wartime elections or pro- tests. Instead, Netanyahu should specify a future election date and retirement date. Even better, he should resign, designating a less polarizing Likudnik who could fight the war equally aggressively without antagonizing so many here and abroad. Five Likud elders must break the impasse with a Joe Lieberman leap. All 60-plus, they had leg- tate mogul, whose brother Yitzhak, Ofakim’s mayor, can detail how much his neighbors suffered on Oc- tober 7 from Bibi’s failures. I take no joy in joining the pile- on against our prime minister – es- pecially during wartime. I wish we could defer this leadership change to peacetime. And I regret target- ing the Likudniks I most admire. But this is their moment. Our need for their courage grows daily. I was lucky enough, by chance, to have an email exchange with Lieber- man the day before he died. It ended with me hailing “your well-deserved reputation for integrity.” I wish our leaders long life, and I hope that, in the far future, one of the last emails they get honors their timely Liebermanesque courage. Gil Troy, a senior fellow in Zi- onist thought at the Jewish People Policy Institute, is the editor of a three-volume set, ‘Theodor Herzl: Zionist.’ Writings,’ the inaugural publication of The Library of the Jewish People.’ Netanyahu visits IDF soldiers. He should resign and designate a Likudnik who could ght the war aggressively without antagonizing so many here and abroad.