In the shadow of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign to destroy public broadcasting, his Likud Party received 26 mandates in a poll published Nov. 4 on the Israeli Public Radio (Kol Israel). Thus, the Likud returned to the top position as the largest party in the polls, after it trailed behind Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid in September. Without discounting the rise of Lapid, who for months now has enjoyed polls that predict 20 or more mandates for him (if elections were held today), we should linger on Netanyahu’s accomplishment here.

In contrast to the fluctuation of other parties in the polls since the election — the fall of the Zionist Camp and Kulanu Party and the rise of Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beitenu and HaBayit HaYehudi — Netanyahu and the Likud have succeeded in maintaining a solid base of supporters. It would not be unfounded to assume that when Netanyahu watched reports about the successful rally the Zionist Camp organized Nov. 6 to mark 21 years to former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, he wasn’t too concerned. According to the organizers, about 70,000 people participated in the rally in Tel Aviv. Even if this estimate is a bit inflated, there is no doubt it was a successful political rally for the center-left camp.

For the leader of the Zionist Camp and the main speaker at the rally, Isaac Herzog, it was a moment of satisfaction after difficult months of efforts at survival within his party and crashing — of himself and the party — in the polls. The speech in front of a warm and supportive audience and the headlines it made in the media, according to which he decided to finally end talks regarding his possibly joining Netanyahu’s government, did him good. The question is where Herzog could go from here. Does he have an action plan to unify the center-left and to lead it? 

Judging by the speech he gave at the square on Saturday night, Herzog still hasn’t formed such a plan. “Tonight we are going to war for democracy,” announced the leader of the Zionist Camp. He spoke about the right-wing government’s incitement against the High Court and against army officers, and accused Netanyahu of taking part in this incitement, just as he took part, according to Herzog, in the incitement against Rabin 21 years ago when he led the Likud.