BLOG: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 11-year-reign comes to an end

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin tasked former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) party, to form a government Oct. 23 after Benjamin Netanyahu failed to after winning Israel’s April election.

Now Gantz has 28 days to recruit parties to join his Knesset — Israeli parliament — to secure his seat as prime minister of Israel. While many see this as a victory to the end of Netanyahu’s 11 year reign, some are still skeptical that Gantz will be able to navigate through the political gridlock and form a government.

Gantz wrote on twitter that he will be ruthless in reconciling the rifts in Israeli society to form a strong representative government in order to put Israel first.

Additionally, he said that he will not tolerate those who put their own affairs before national interests — likely a jab at Netanyahu who is being investigated for numerous corruption charges.

Neera Tanden, an American journalist, tweeted in agreement that the end of Netanyahu’s reign is a positive sign for liberal democracy in response to the increasing right-wing nationalism movements throughout the West — including Israel.

But, some rebuked her comments in regards to Israel because Gantz’s party, Kahol Laval, is a centrist party.

In contrast to those who are weary of Gantz ability to form a government, Israeli journalist Chemi Shalev wrote for Haaretz that the president's decision to task Gantz is not just symbolic.

“Conventional wisdom holds that Benny Gantz will be just as unsuccessful as Benjamin Netanyahu in setting up a new government,” Shalev wrote. “That means that President Reuven Rivlin giving Gantz the mandate to form a new coalition on Wednesday night was nothing more than ceremony. A ritual. A mostly symbolic gesture with negligible influence on reality."

"Nonetheless, the live, prime time broadcast of the ceremony in which Rivlin anointed Gantz as prime-minister-in-waiting jolted an Israeli public that had come to believe that Netanyahu would entrench himself in the prime minister’s office for all eternity."