Saar’s Juggling Act

Given Shas’s prominent place in the pro-Bibi bloc, naturally most of the politicians who came to pay their respects were members of the right wing, and so it was a surprise to see Defense Minister Benny Gantz, accompanied by Shas chair Aryeh Deri, and Justice Minister Gideon Saar, who came without any escort.

The two menachamim, Gantz and Saar, have joined forces for the next elections. The more interesting of the pair, who plays second fiddle on the list, is Gideon Saar — the man who was instrumental in helping Netanyahu return from opposition in 2009 to regain the position of prime minister. Somewhere along the way, the relationship soured; Netanyahu accused Saar of wanting to depose him, and  Saar was compelled to leave the Likud and establish his own party.

Despite a poor showing in the last elections — Saar’s New Hope party won only six Knesset seats — Saar walked away the victor in that round. His party denied Netanyahu’s bloc a majority of 61, dispatching Bibi to the opposition benches for the first time in a dozen years. The prime minister’s residence no longer has the name Netanyahu on the mailbox.

Challenging Bibi from the right isn’t for the faint-hearted. Over the last year, Saar, a longtime loyal Likud member, was under constant attack from the big guns of conservative media, traditional and social. The bulls-eye on his back was second in size only to that of former prime minister Naftali Bennett, an even greater target of right-wing antipathy.