It’s been common knowledge for months that Benny Gantz, the former IDF chief of staff, wants to get into politics. With Knesset elections slated for April 9, he now has his chance. Even though no one knows his positions on the burning issues or the makeup of his party list, he’s already considered a star in the campaign. The polls give his new party, Hosen L’Yisrael (“Resilience for Israel”) between 12 and 15 seats — the second or third largest in the Knesset, after the Likud.

As of the end of last week, however, Gantz hadn’t uttered a word in public on any meaningful topic. What is it that makes him such an attractive choice?

Attorney Eitan Levine, a strategic analyst who served under the former chief of staff, surmises that Gantz’s popularity says less about the man and more about the public.

“Israelis are pining for something different, something new, and that’s what Gantz represents — at the moment,” Levine says. “As long as we haven’t heard him speak, he’s a symbol of everything people want. He’s the poster child of the Zionist dream — salt-of-the-earth, blue-eyed, rugged-looking, and a former general, no less. The jury is still out on whether his military career was successful or not, and we’ll yet discuss it — but only when he opens his mouth. Until then, he’ll continue to be everyone’s dream candidate.”

Michael Biton, former Yerucham local council head and a leading social activist, sees Gantz as the most promising of all the opposition candidates. “I see him as the ‘big bang’ of Israeli politics. If he navigates correctly and makes the right connections, he could even be a candidate for prime minister.”

Dan Amargi, a former brigade commander, served as Gantz’s personal aide during the Second Lebanon War. He ascribes Gantz’s popularity to his interpersonal skills. “As commander, he never had to give orders. He’d ask, and everyone did his bidding. He respected his soldiers, and they respected him back. His personal attention to each soldier, his unflappability and sangfroid enabled him to prevail in some extremely difficult battles.”

Dream Ticket

Journalist Raviv Drucker spoke to dozens of Gantz’s associates from over the years. What emerged was a portrait of someone trustworthy, honest, responsible, and serious; one who looks for the good in everyone, without the overinflated ego common to so many leaders.

“It’ll be hard to find his enemies,” Drucker says.

However, Drucker says Gantz is far from being ready to step into Binyamin Netanyahu’s shoes. Gantz doesn’t have experience in the political arena of promoting a new vision, stubbornly defending a minority position, or trailblazing with creative strategies. As long as he remains silent, he is a cipher onto whom his supporters can project all their hopes and dreams. But those who know Gantz well say that his current allure and his predicted success in the polls are a balloon that will burst the first time he opens his mouth.

Politically, says Drucker, Gantz is closer to Yeish Atid than to the Labor Party. Gantz believes that although there’s currently no one on the Palestinian side with whom to make a peace deal, Israel must nevertheless negotiate — and stop building outside the settlement blocs.

Gantz has professed support for a lot of ideas no one can really disagree with: reconciliation, unity, and sound government. For example, Gantz supports giving elected officials a set term limit (and no, you haven’t heard him call for Netanyahu to go home) — as well as a significant pay raise. But all the polemics of recent years on the rule of law, corruption, or the status of the High Court, haven’t elicited from him even one significant comment. Once he’s mired in politics, he won’t be able to maintain that stoicism.

Naturally, the Likud is wary of Gantz’s popularity. At the end of last week, a “senior military source” told the media that throughout Gantz’s term as chief of staff, the IDF was unprepared for war, since he favored funding technology over training. And at the beginning of this week, Yoav Galant, who defected from Kulanu to the Likud, launched a verbal attack.

It’s possible that by the time you read these lines, the cloud of ambiguity surrounding Benny Gantz will have already been lifted. Gantz’s team says that on January 10 he will kick-start his campaign with his first speech. He will go over the reasons that led him to enter politics, and outline his basic ideology — significantly, at a venue in Jerusalem.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 743)