When Blue and White Party chairman Benny Gantz completed his first address to the Knesset May 13, the first person to jump up and rush to the podium to congratulate him was number two on his list, Knesset member Yair Lapid. It was hard to miss Lapid’s gesture, which included a warm hug followed by a pat on the back. He looked like a teacher glowing with pride after his student passed his rhetoric exam with flying colors. From the sidelines, at least, it looked like the two men had a cordial relationship. The same was true of a photo Gantz posted to Twitter shortly before his speech. It showed him and Lapid sitting together, smiling and acting like old buddies. “The Knesset in action,” Gantz wrote in the caption.

Blue and White was established before the April 9 election. Lapid’s Yesh Atid partnered with Gantz’ new Israel Resilience Party, a union that won them 35 Knesset seats. But will the strong pre-election partnership survive? The problem is that beneath the surface — and more recently, above it as well — a very different picture seems to be emerging, one of growing tension within the party’s leadership. Apparently, the main source of this tension is differences of opinion over the practical strategy that the largest opposition party should adopt. So the public gestures and Monday’s tweets should be taken with a healthy dose of suspicion.

Perhaps more telling was the odd way both party leaders acted in the Knesset on Monday. They almost seemed like leaders of two separate parties. Lapid called a special press conference at noon and then stood alone on the podium to address the journalists in reaction to news of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advancing immunity measures. It was an opportunity for Lapid to deliver a very focused and aggressive opposition screed against Netanyahu’s moves, claiming they are intended to spare him from his impending legal proceedings. Lapid explained that Netanyahu “needs time to form his ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ government in order to pass the Immunity Law and Override Clause, which is basically the law in Turkey. It is a law that will turn us into [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s Turkey.’’

With all due respect to Lapid’s remarks, what really intrigued the press was Gantz’ conspicuous absence. Why wasn’t he standing beside Lapid? Was this the beginning of a split? Lapid pushed back against these questions adroitly, sending the message that it all was business as usual in Blue and White. He suggested that the press wait to hear Gantz’ speech.