No, I have no intention of taking part in the lynching of Blue and White party Benny Gantz's political corpse that is about to unfold. I have never hated him. Not even in recent months, when he insisted on pursuing a path that led nowhere.
I cannot hate a man who devoted 45 years of his life to the State of Israel. A man who served as IDF chief of staff and defense minister (and was actually quite good at both). Who twice threw himself on the grenade, paying an unbearably heavy personal price. Who made quite a few mistakes, but always with good intentions. Who endured all the venom and malice that the poison machine could unleash against him, yet remained standing.
Yes, the past few months have overshadowed much of what he accomplished. Yes, in hindsight, perhaps he should never have formed a rotation government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the COVID-19 pandemic. And perhaps he should not have joined the war cabinet and saved Netanyahu as well.
Hindsight on Gantz is 20/20
But hindsight is always 20/20. I supported both of those decisions, even though I knew the scorpion would eventually sting. What drove Gantz was his love for his country. I believe that.
So I have no idea where he goes from here or what he will do next. I hope that one day he gets to see this nation united.
For now, let us say one simple thing to Benny Gantz: You made the right decision. Better late than never. And thank you.