But in his first address to the nation as interim prime minister on Saturday night, Lapid gave a speech that few in this extraordinary right-left-center Arab coalition would find problematic. And that was exactly his point. In what marked his first four-month campaign to convince Israelis to elect him to the post he inherited from Naftali Bennett, Lapid presented himself as the prime minister of an Israel with shared goals and values, an Israel stronger, safer and happier when can healthily manage its inevitable internal strife, an Israel whose public is far more unified than its politicians. He used the speech to lay out some key personal credentials to an electorate some parts of which, he acknowledged, “do not and will not” support his caretaker government. He reminded the audience that he is the son of a Holocaust survivor, and therefore keenly aware – given the horrors and betrayals of World War II – of the imperative that the revived Jewish nation should always be able to defend itself, alone. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms A secular leader, he connected the faith as well as the Jewish nation with biblical quotations and passages of history. He supported his consensual bona fides by referring to the two photographs in his Knesset office of Israel’s greatest prime ministers from opposite sides of the political spectrum: David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin. He has repeatedly emphasized his commitment to Israel’s democracy and Jewish character, including an almost utopian claim: “We all have the same goal: a Jewish, democratic, liberal, great, strong, advanced and prosperous Israel.” What exactly did he mean by “big”? Include territories over which Israel does not currently claim sovereignty? There was no time for details. This was his inaugural premiership after all. Lapid spoke in his familiar calm and frank tones, but seemed more energized toward the end of the brief speech (less than 10 minutes), when he spoke of extremism “flowing like lava” from Israeli politics onto its streets . Almost the entire speech was a case of Lapid differentiating himself from his challenger in the Nov. 1 election, Benjamin Netanyahu. He began by thanking Bennett for a smooth transition of power on Thursday — an unfathomable contrast to Netanyahu’s failure to honor his 2020 prime ministerial rotation deal with Benny Gantz and Netanyahu’s less than cordial 30-minute transition meeting with Bennett last June . But the passages about violence and viciousness in national politics were his angriest and most compelling, and they were unmistakably directed at the Likud leader. “The big Israeli question is actually why, at a time when we have broad national agreement on all important issues, are the levels of hatred and anxiety in Israeli society so high? Why is polarization more threatening than ever?” Lapid asked. Israel’s politics have become increasingly extreme and divisive, and “they are dragging Israeli society down with them,” he replied. “We have to stop this. This is our challenge.” Lapid chose not to mention Netanyahu, not in this section or anywhere else in the speech – because he is obviously the antagonist to be defeated, but not to be named. In Lapid’s portrayal of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, the opposition leader who tore apart his hard-built coalition is not just the interim prime minister’s personal political enmity, but national enmity — the raging, divisive obstacle to an Israel as secure as it is and peaceful -They seek, prosper economically but leave no one behind, ideologically diverse but mature in handling its internal arguments. Lapid opened his campaign on Saturday with a political but sweeping attack on Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. You can count on Netanyahu to respond even less politely. It’s not (only) for you. Supporting The Times of Israel is not a transaction for an online service, such as subscribing to Netflix. The ToI community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions around the world, for free. 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