Yair Lapid, Head of the State of Tel AvivAluf Benn Jan 5, 2023
The battle against the government of racism, discrimination and religious coercion led by Benjamin Netanyahu will be waged in the coming years from Tel Aviv. The secular city expresses in all its essence the alternative to the road that Netanyahu, the Haredim and the Kahanists are paving for Israel.
Even when darkness falls on large parts of the country, Tel Aviv and some of its satellite cities can guarantee open public spaces for women and LGBT people, uncensored culture and an affinity with liberal countries. It is true that the first Hebrew city is not exactly a model of equality for Arabs and coexistence, but if Tel Aviv is lost, the defeat will be felt in its full force in Sakhnin, Umm al-Fahm and Rahat.
In order for the secular community to stand firm against the government that wants to subordinate it to the “Jewish identity” authorities, it needs a leader who will be identified with the message, who will stand on the highway overpasses and march to the Knesset and to the prime minister’s home in Jerusalem. They need a leader who will meet with foreign statesmen and delegations, who will build alliances with other cities, with civil society organizations, with liberal academia, with high-tech and, most importantly, who can craft and lead the nationwide counterrevolution in the post-Netanyahu era.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, who has already announced that he will run for reelection to his sixth term later this year, deserves great credit for his contribution to the development and positioning of the city during his 24-plus years in office. Despite the justified criticism of his tendency toward intimidation, he is clearly an impressive administrator and a local politician from the big leagues. Nevertheless, he is not up to the current challenge, as his failed attempt in the national arena proved. His successes – attracting new residents to the city, carrying out projects such as Park Hamesila (Train Track Park), supporting cultural institutions and contributing to Tel Aviv’s nightlife and overall sense of freedom – still stand, but they do not add up to a leader on whom secular Israel can pin its hopes. Huldai, a doer, cannot rally the masses, he lacks critical parliamentary and governmental experience and, most crucially, he is not someone who will spend his weekends protesting in Jerusalem or on highway bridges.
There is another person in Israel who is strongly identified with Tel Aviv and its culture: Yair Lapid, the outgoing prime minister. No one could be more suited to lead the secular and democratic battle against Netanyahu and his gang of racists, misogynists and homophobes. In his decade in politics, Lapid has demonstrated perseverance, resilience and an aptitude for teamwork. He is extremely articulate, with a great presenceand a coherent worldview. He also has shortcomings: In the last election he failed to manage the bloc, and did not prevent the collapse of the left and the splitting of the Arab vote. His foreign and defense policy continued that of Netanyahu, for example in snubbing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and as head of the opposition now he ignores Hadash-Ta’al party leaders MKs Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi.
Lapid could stay in the opposition, attend briefings with Netanyahu and hope that the next Likud crisis will return him to power. But the lesson to be learned from the failure of the “change government” is that the prime minister cannot bring about a turnaround in the country when the right and the religious have veto power. The change must be built from below, with a mass movement, a liberal education system and culture and, the main goal for the long term – having a system in place to encourage religious Jews and Haredim to leave Orthodox life.
Such an enterprise cannot be led from a party conference room in the Knesset. It requires the political patience available to a mayor and the economic and organizational infrastructure of a strong city that doesn’t have to rely on handouts from the national government.
The campaign should be headed by a person who has been prime minister, foreign minister and finance minister, who founded and led a large party and captivated hundreds of thousands of voters. Come back to us in Tel Aviv, Lapid, run for mayor on October 31 and lead the counterrevolution from Rabin Square. And if you succeed, you can return to the wood-paneled office and the intimate security guards’ apartment in Jerusalem.