Lapid on Iceland, But Be Careful of Thin Ice

Yair Lapid has produced a great post rebutting the City of Rekyavik's stated intention to boycott all Israeli products. He also succeeded in getting it printed a Reykjavik newspaper (I will deal with the subsequent change to a boycott of "conquered territories" products in another post). When I first read about the City of Reykjavik's intention a few days ago, I wondered about how to handle the issue in terms of pro-Israel public relations. Yair Lapid has certainly given us all a good lesson on how to do it. It was truly brilliant, as one would expect from a highly articulate and very experienced media personality. Not only that. He has filled a vacuum that was missing in our public relations.

This is not the first time that Lapid, as a member of the Opposition, has performed well in pro-Israel public relations. On August 8, 2015 he printed an article in Italian and German newspapers against the deal with Iran (and boycott of Israel).
http://www.ynet.co.il/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/0,2506,L-4688492,00.html

But let's be honest. Lapid is not really talking about the boycott. What he is telling us, not-so-subtly, is that he deserves to be Prime Minister, i.e., that Lapid can do a better job at foreign policy than Netanyahu. When I checked Lapid's post today, there were already 20,000 'likes,' and the "Lapid for Prime Minister" drums were pounding in rhythmic beat (although I didn't see anyone dancing around a bonfire). Dekel, for example, wrote that she doesn't understand why Lapid is not the Prime Minister.

But, my friends, that is the thin ice that we have to be very careful about. Because Lapid writes nice pro-Israel articles for the media, does that qualify him to be Prime Minister? Is he really the person that we want at the helm on complex issues vis-a-vis Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Authority or a variety of other delicate matters of foreign policy? Does Lapid have the maturity to make real-time decisions on a Middle East that is undergoing metamorphosis before our eyes? What concrete experience, excellence and accomplishment in public service does Lapid bring to the Prime Minister's table?
And let's remember something else. Israel was not idle when the City of Reykjavik declared its intention. In a couple of days, the Foreign Ministry succeeded in having the Icelandic Government declare its opposition to any boycott Israeli products, thereby relegating the City of Reykjavik's intended boycott to a dead letter.

I will be following the Iceland issue, the gas deal and Iranian nuclear agreement in future posts. If you like what you have seen, please stay tuned.