From Israeli coalition: Unity and healing, without Netanyahu

In their first group photo since announcing their “change” coalition, the heads of eight Israeli parties from an unprecedented array of ideologies and backgrounds are seen in dark suits, around a long table, with a pair of blue-and-white Israeli flags propped behind them.

The message of the image featured on Israeli front pages Monday was clear: a visual cue to the public to imagine them as willing and competent partners poised to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure as prime minister. The display of unity also fit with an emerging public priority: to heal internal divides.

Optics and messaging were also on display Sunday night when Naftali Bennett, a former Netanyahu protégé, took to the Israeli airwaves live in prime time to reassure Israelis that the coalition was not “the biggest election fraud in history,” as Mr. Netanyahu has called it, but the creation of

Areas of agreementWhat’s in it for the partners? An about-face on the right