Former Netanyahu Aide Warns Right-Wing Victory Could Be a Danger
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Shlomo Filber, a former aide to Benjamin Netanyahu, warns in his new book that a right-wing victory in the recent elections could become a danger if not handled strategically. He urges the national camp's leadership to offer genuine partnership to Zionist parties in the "change camp" to avoid a "red-green coalition" of the progressive left and Palestinian nationalism. Filber argues that a retaliatory approach is dangerous and that a broad national public understood the recent elections as a struggle for their democratic representation and values.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Shlomo Filber warns a right-wing election victory could be a danger if not handled strategically.
- He urges the national camp's leadership to offer genuine partnership to Zionist parties in the "change camp."
- Filber cautions against a retaliatory approach, calling it "dangerous."
- He warns of a potential "red-green coalition" of the progressive left and Palestinian nationalism.
- Filber believes the recent elections reflected a public understanding of the struggle for democratic representation.
In his upcoming book, "It's Not Bibi: The Rise of the National Camp," Shlomo Filber urges the national camp's leadership to offer genuine partnership to Zionist parties within the "change camp." Filber, a former director-general of the Ministry of Communications and a key architect of the Likud's 2015 election victory, warns that a retaliatory approach following the recent elections could jeopardize the right-wing's achievements. He argues that the national camp needs strategic thinking to overcome the urge to respond in kind to its rivals.
Filber's book, set to be released soon, was written partly in response to the "Anyone but Bibi" campaign. While the Likud emerged as the largest party, Filber describes the current period as a "dangerous and unprecedentedly important moment." He cautions against premature celebrations, stating that an emotional, tit-for-tat response to the "Anyone but Bibi" campaign, such as boycotting opponents or demanding they wait their turn, is "dangerous."
Instead, Filber calls on the national camp's leadership to extend a hand to the Zionist parties in the change camp, proposing genuine partnership in governing the country. He believes that voters from the change camp will not accept being a subordinate minority in a coalition. Failure to forge such a Zionist and national partnership, he warns, could lead to the formation of what he terms a "red-green coalition", an alliance between the progressive left and Palestinian nationalism, which he believes would threaten to tear Israel apart from within.
The book also offers Filber's analysis of the past decade's struggle for power in Israel, arguing that the conflict has been misrepresented as a personal battle against Netanyahu, with attempts to delegitimize him through the legal system and media. He contends that a broad national public recognized the struggle as also being about their right to democratic representation, their identity, values, and the country's direction, seeing the 2026 election results as an expression of this understanding.