experience, gravitas, substance. He also had what was probably the best line in the

/ BARAK / 6 experience, gravitas, substance. He also had what was probably the best line in the debate, saying that if Israeli voters were choosing a male model and not a Prime Minister, Bibi might indeed be their man. Yet Bibi was much the more polished performer, and the more focused. No matter what question Margalit asked him, he almost invariably answered with the driving message of his campaign: that because of Peres, Israeli citizens were living in fear, wondering where the next suicide bomber would strike or the next Katyusha would land. And unavoidably, there was another contrast as well: Bibi, who, after all, was 26 years younger, projected greater youth, energy and confidence. When it was over, and Peres asked us how he’d done, we all hemmed and hawed. Only Avraham Burg was prepared to offer a clear verdict. He told Peres that Bibi had been the clear winner. Still, it remained possible that Ramon’s football-game strategy might work. Though Peres’s poll lead had been narrowing by the day, he was — just — ahead. With a large number of voters undecided, however, Bibi pulled one final trick out of his campaign bag. Under Israeli law, election spending is tightly regulated and nearly all campaigning is barred during the last 48 hours before polling day. Yet with the backing of wealthy overseas supporters, the Netanyahu campaign suddenly flooded Israel with blue-and-white banners under the slogan: Bibi, Tov la Yehudim. “Bibi is good for the Jews.” Would it swing tens of thousands of votes among the Orthodox voters who were the main target? It was impossible to say. But it seemed clear it was going to be a very close election. I had worried for some time we might lose. That was why Nava and I had persuaded Michal, our eldest daughter, to bring forward her wedding. She was marrying her teenage boyfriend, a wonderful young man named Ziv Lotenberg. They had originally planned it for a week later. But we did want to risk having it overshadowed by an election defeat. The wedding took place in a beautiful area of lawns and gardens called Ronit Farm, north of Herzliya. It was how weddings are meant to be, full of smiles, good food and dancing. Near the end, Shimon showed up. As he walked over to greet us, one guest after another shook his hand, patted him on the back, hugged him, wished him luck. It was as if all the pressure and tension of the campaign had suddenly flowed out of him. He smiled, returned the embraces, even joined in the dancing. When he left, I told him that he’d done all he could to secure victory, and that I hoped the voters would make the right choice. The first exit polls suggested he was going to win. But our internal polling was less clear. As more and more votes were counted, Shimon’s margin inexorably 292 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011763