Addressing the United Nations General Assembly Sept. 22, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid returned the two-state solution to center stage. “Despite all the obstacles, still today a large majority of Israelis support the vision of this two-state solution. I am one of them,” said Lapid.

Still, while the stage and the audience were international, Lapid’s words were directed to Israeli public opinion. In fact, more than a diplomatic speech, it was a political speech at the height of an election campaign. Clearly, the speech should allow Lapid to assume the mantle of the leader of Israel’s center-left, and the bloc’s candidate for the role of prime minister. 

More in details, this move was aimed mostly to draw voters away from Defense Minister Benny Gantz, chairman of the National Unity party, and to hurt the latter’s campaign for prime minister. 

Indeed, the two are running against each other for the role within the center-left bloc. This is the reason that neither Gantz nor any members of his party responded publicly to Lapid’s speech. Of course, Gantz could not criticize a vision that he shares, as does the third candidate on his party list, former Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot. But for now he preferred to ignore Lapid, who had upstaged him.