Bennett's first 100 days were quiet, it's just the beginning

• Published date: 23 September 2021
• Author: YAAKOV KATZ
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Wondering where he had gone, I logged onto the Jerusalem Post's internal archive system on Wednesday, and looked up how many times the word "Mandelblit" has appeared in the paper over the last 100 days, since the government was formed on June 13 by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

It was 36. Mandelblit was mentioned in stories about the legality of West Bank outposts, voting on the budget bill, plans to approve an egalitarian plaza at the Kotel, and the ongoing state commission investigation into the Lag Ba'omer disaster at Meron.

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I then checked the previous three months, from March to June, when Benjamin Netanyahu was still prime minister. "Mandelblit" appeared 62 times in the paper. The three months before that? Fifty-eight times.

What were those extra 22-26 stories mostly about? You can guess: Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial, Likud attacks against the attorney-general, and the overall weakening of the justice system.

That drop in recent months of the number of mentions of Mandelblit is something of a weather vane for Israel today, telling a story about the change that has taken place since the Bennett-Lapid government took office.

It is not about Mandelblit – he is just a dugma mushlemet as they say, a perfect example – but rather about the change being felt in the political system and across government ministries. Things are quieter, a bit more normal. You don't see political mudslinging as much anymore.

And that is a good thing. During the last few years of Netanyahu's tenure as prime minister, the situation became overwhelming. The mudslinging never seemed to quit, even for a second, and people stopped trusting in government institutions.

Every day saw a new political battle, with accompanying headlines. There was always news. Some of the stories were about Netanyahu's accomplishments and policies, but over the last few years it was mostly focused on the negativity that he brought to our political structure: attacks on the criminal justice system, his trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and his never-ending hostile rhetoric against anyone who stood in his way.

Those stories are gone. Not because we don't want to cover them, but because they aren't happening. Netanyahu appears less in public, doesn't speak as often, and, as is common with former prime ministers, has fallen a bit off the national...