“If I’m in the Cabinet, I can work together with [Defense Minister] Moshe Ya’alon to strengthen the moderate voices contending with [Education Minister] Naftali Bennett.” According to senior political sources speaking on condition of anonymity, Labor head Isaac Herzog made that statement mid-May in talks he had with party insiders, including Knesset members. He is working to convince them to join the Netanyahu government. Herzog tried to explain that now more than ever, the Labor Party is crucial to the government as only it can stop the far right and potentially change the harsh international attitude toward Israel.
On May 15, Channel 10 News broadcast a recording of a parlor meeting in which Herzog was heard explaining why it's so essential for his party to join the government. Among other things, Herzog said, “I have identified a rare regional diplomatic opportunity that may vanish and not return. I don’t say this based on nothing, but based on knowledge. I don’t know if it will happen. But it could be that it will happen only due to a change in the government’s composition. If it's allowed to talk to [Palestinian President] Mahmoud Abbas, it's allowed to talk to [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.”
