Get real: You're either pro-Bibi or anti-Bibi, there is no third option

Israelis are an interesting lot. Living in a hostile region and usually on guard for their lives, we are often characterized by a very blunt, realist approach to life in general, caring little for all sorts of fantasy ideas brought in from abroad, from people who don't face our realities.

But one area where Israelis are truly prone to truly delusional flights of fancy is the realm of politics. Time and again, instead of recognizing that there is no such thing as politics free of strife and intrigue, we hear hopes for some Platonic form of politics, solely involving purely disinterested statesmen who always knows what's best for the people.

These take the form of massive unity efforts that go nowhere, centrist parties that collapse in a term or two or become ideological soon enough, and even open support for blatantly undemocratic approaches to governance, such as the idea that Israel should be ruled by self-appointed Philosopher Kings on the Supreme Court or in other unelected institutions.

But perhaps the purest form of this delusion is the desire for a national unity government. In the minds of Israelis, such a government is not a hard, messy, partial compromise of competing beliefs and publics, lasting only as long as emergencies dictate, but some made for TV idealistic drama that heals the world. The fact that no such national unity government in Israeli history ever actually functioned that way is of no account.

Now, post-October 7, we hear of an even more fantastical concept: a "healing" national government, which will transcend the pro- and anti-Netanyahu camps, and be made up exclusively of people who were not in the Knesset at the time of October 7 or tied to its failures.

The desire to "throw the bums out" after a massive screwup is of course a natural and often very healthy one. But - and this is key - the only way to do this is to bring other bums in who will fix the problem. This is what happened effectively in 1977, and in other such electoral upheavals.

Even "new" centrist parties are almost always made up of familiar, opportunistic faces, not pure as the driven snow idealists who just want what's best for the country.

The same is the case here. Right now, the only political games in town for Israeli voters are the parties comprising the Netanyahu camp, or those compromising the anti-Netanyahu camp. That's it. Those are the options for the voter come election time in November 2026.

Those parties have not changed their stances on much of anything since October 7, and the idea that either will "transcend" current disputes runs against the mountains of public statements by everyone on all sides. What was, will be - at least for the foreseeable future.

Even if Naftali Bennet throws his hat into the ring and somehow overcomes his tendency to avoid taking a stance on key issues, all Israel will get is a glorified version of the "change government" in between Netanyahu governments, and with even less learned.

New parties, leaders, and people will emerge over time, no doubt. Many of them will be full of those disgusted by the current leadership.

But here's the thing: They will all be divided on what the solutions are, just like the current Knesset is. Nor will they be able to avoid political compromises and deals, just like the current Knesset.

That, however, is a matter for another time. But for the foreseeable future, it's Bibi or anti-Bibi.

Pick your poison.