On Sunday afternoon, as Israel baked in a heat wave and the country’s febrile politics reached boiling point, leafy Raanana was the place to be.
Just down the road from the swanky villas that former defense minister Naftali Bennett calls home, in the office tower that houses his upstart Yamina party, a meeting was taking place that had Israel’s political class riveted.
Joining Bennett and senior lieutenant Ayelet Shaked were the party’s MKs, minus one rebel. Their task was to make official the rumors swirling since Friday: that one of the most hawkish figures on the Israeli right was about to cross the lines and join with Yair Lapid and Israel’s left to turf Bibi out of office.
As the meeting got underway on one of the upper floors, the reporters and cameramen outside the building were treated to a sight both absurd and revealing.
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