October 7 was a failure of leadership and preparedness, and we must examine responsibility honestly. But Eisenkot himself served as IDF chief of staff during the years preceding the attack. If we are going to have a serious discussion about responsibility, it cannot be reduced to a campaign slogan aimed at one political party.<\/p>\n
Illustrative: A voting box in the an Israeli election in 2015. (credit: REUTERS)<\/p>\n
And can Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offer voters something more than the warning that if Likud<\/a> is not in power, \u201cthe Left\u201d will return Israel to the Oslo path? He claims to want to unify the country, but how exactly will he do that? Another partnership with the haredim (ultra-Orthodox) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir?<\/p>\n Israel faces challenges far more complicated than these familiar political boogeymen. Israelis deserve to know what the candidates will actually do with the power they are asking us to give them.<\/p>\n Of course, there are challenges also facing the emerging Center-Right parties. Will they be able to put aside personal ambitions, egos, and competing political brands and unite behind a single viable alternative to Likud? Or will precious votes once again be divided among parties that may struggle to have a meaningful impact?<\/p>\n Does Avigdor Lieberman have a vision for Israel beyond positioning himself as potential kingmaker and, ultimately, the prime minister? Lieberman has made no secret of his ambition to become prime minister. But if Yisrael Beytenu emerges with enough seats to determine who forms the next government, voters deserve to know what Lieberman intends to demand in return.<\/p>\n What are his economic priorities? What is his plan for housing? How does he propose to resolve the haredi draft crisis? What does he believe Israel\u2019s security and diplomatic strategy should be? Being the kingmaker is a political role. Being prime minister requires a governing vision.<\/p>\n Lieberman needs to show voters that he has a real one and not just empty, half-baked slogans.<\/p>\n And what about Yair Golan? Can he move beyond inflammatory rhetoric about settlers and religious Israelis and present a serious political program? Israelis need to hear what he proposes to do besides the failed, unrealistic policies of Oslo.<\/p>\n