Netanyahu's Biggest Trick? Win While Not in the Room

Israel votes on Tuesday. Benjamin Netanyahu is not on the ballot, yet he dominates the race. His rivals campaign against a man who is not there. The prime minister has shaped Israeli politics for thirty years. He has held the top job, on and off, for 19 of the past 30. Now he is putting his opponents on the defensive before the general election. At a rally in Modi'in, a modest city halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, supporters cheer for Gadi Eisenkot. The former general is the leading opposition challenger. He rose from working-class Moroccan Jewish roots to become chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces. He entered politics only four years ago. Eisenkot wants Netanyahu's job. But the crowd's energy points to someone else. A man who is not in the room looms over the event. It is Netanyahu. Warm-up speakers praise Eisenkot's virtues. Every sentence seems to end with two unspoken words: unlike Bibi.