On Feb. 13, just four days before being discharged from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), outgoing Chief of Staff Benny Gantz was seen stepping out of his vehicle in a downpour and handing a 200-shekel ($50) note to a beggar panhandling at a major intersection in the city of Ramat Gan. The photographer was Simor Luzon, a city resident who happened to pass by and took a quick snapshot. Posting the somewhat grainy photo on his Facebook page, he related that the chief of staff’s motorcade stopped in the middle of the street and added, “Thank you Benny Gantz, for restoring my trust in the top brass that runs our country and my faith that there are good people like you.”
As was to be expected, the photo of the chief of staff and the panhandler went viral, enjoying thousands of shares, comments and references on other websites, in the news media and on TV shows. Luzon had his 15 minutes of fame and Gantz was labeled “an officer and a gentleman.” There is no need for a special poll to see that in an analysis of Gantz’ electability for the premiership at this point in time, he would beat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This would have also probably been the case during the entire handing over of his position, beginning last week and culminating on Feb. 16 in several ceremonies that were broadcast live.
