Thread by @Yair_Rosenberg

They say Netanyahu is a divisive politician, but he did bring together some pretty unusual allies ... to kick him out of office. Pictured: Yair Lapid, secular leader of Israeli opposition, Naftali Bennett, settler party head, and Mansour Abbas, leader of Islamist Arab party Raam.

Just because Lapid got everyone's signatures on paper to replace Netanyahu doesn't mean it's a done deal. Bibi will pursue every possible pressure point right up until the new government is sworn in. But getting all those signatures on paper together is historic in its own right.

BREAKING: Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid announces that he has successfully formed a government to replace Netanyahu. Official statement:

In other news, we are one step closer to the international media finally having to learn how to correctly pronounce my name.

Now might be a good time to read my piece:

What You Should Know About Yair Lapid, The Man Just Tasked With Trying to Replace Netanyahu
yair.substack.com/p/what-you-sho…

READING LIST

My 2019 profile of Yair Lapid: tabletmag.com/sections/israe…
My interview w/ Lapid after he became Israeli opposition leader: tabletmag.com/sections/israe…
My profile of Naftali Bennett, the frontman & first prime minister in the new proposed government: tabletmag.com/sections/news/…

I'll reiterate what I've said before: do not believe Netanyahu is being replaced until the moment you see the replacement government being sworn in. He still has days between now and the vote to blow everything up. This is the closest he's come to losing power, but it's not done.

https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1400187236432371712

Israeli opposition leader Lapid, tasked with solving the Rubik's cube of Israeli politics and uniting the anti-Netanyahu left, right, and center--Jews and Arabs--says he's got it.

https://twitter.com/yairlapid/status/1400190070578089985

Folks, it's "Yah" (as in the non-committal conversational sound) and "ear" (as in the part of the anatomy). You're welcome.

https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1400187779833905161

Here's the video of Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid making the call to Israel's president officially informing him that he has succeeded in forming a new government.

https://twitter.com/N12News/status/1400193187768057857

NOT YET. They still have to vote this new government in, and Bibi has time to apply immense pressure and try to break up the opposition. Don't believe these headlines about Netanyahu's ouster any more than the ones that told you he'd won on election night. wsj.com/articles/israe…

There are going to be a lot of temptations in the take industry to write entire pieces about the implications of the new Israeli government. But we don't have a new Israeli government yet. Wait until they're sworn in before making any premature pronouncements. One step at a time.

For those asking when this new Israeli gov gets sworn in: It depends. The Knesset speaker, a Bibi ally, might stall the vote as long as possible, giving Bibi more time to blow things up. But the opposition implied it'll move to replace the speaker if he does this. So we'll see.