Netanyahu’s smear campaign leaves Gantz muddied

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting tooth and nail for his job and his life. He's taking no prisoners; he's not stopping on red. He has given an order to crush his rival, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, to pummel his image and turn the former army chief into a lame duck, a weakling unfit to run the affairs of state.

Netanyahu’s Likud, awash with money and other resources, is throwing everything it can at Gantz. Nothing is out off limits, including rumors and reports, some anonymous, about the contents of Gantz’s mobile phone falling into Iranian hands, vile allegations about his sexual activities and his military career. The real “ace” of Gantz’s Blue and White, the popular former military chief Gabi Ashkenazi, has also been selected for similar “treatment.”