Sunday, December 02, 2018

Benjamin Netanyahu - Crook or Great Leader?

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu (Jerusalem Post)
You can’t be in politics as long as Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu without making a few enemies. Especially if you are the Prime Minister of Israel.  It comes with the territory. And it seems that Netanyahu is good at it. Making enemies that is.

But what about his job as prime minister? I would say he is quite good at that too, perhaps better than most other prime ministers. At least if judged by longevity as a democratically elected leader. And perhaps even judged by  accomplishment.

My guess is that the longer one remains in high office, the more enemies one makes. Everything bad that has happened under his watch is blamed on him. As Prime Minister for the last 10 years he has amassed quite a bit of baggage along those lines. Which brings out the worst in those political opponents out to get him. They want him out of the way so that they can take over. I don’t think there is any doubt about that. That is Politics 101 in 2018.

This does not of course mean that he should be immune to legitimate criticism or above the law. Quite the opposite! If anything - the leader of any country should be a leader with respect to the law and ethical behavior. Especially if he or she is the leader of the Jewish State. Which Benjamin Netanyahu is.

It appears that Benjamin Netanyahu is about to be indicted and charged with bribery. He apparently agreed to ease regulations for the Bezek media and telephone company in exchange for positive coverage. Netanyahu has been under investigation for what seems like forever for a a variety of things he’s done (or supposedly done) and apparently the police have found enough evidence to recommend an indictment on at least one of them.

He denies those charges and I assume he will vigorously fight them. If found guilty he should be removed from office and pay for his crimes. End of story.

But I can’t help but feel that the investigation took place at all was because of zealous determination by his political opponents. Who care little about the actual crime and more about getting him out of the way so that they can take over.

For those of his political opponents now celebrating this imminent indictment, spare me the righteous indignation! I would advise they not be the first ones to cast stones. Is there even such a thing as an honest politician?

The truth is that his political enemies have had years to build up their hatred of him. And have spared no opportunity to characterize him as unethical and counterproductive to Israel’s well being. But is that a fair assessment? Or is it sour grapes from people that have long sought to replace him?  People who consider his political philosophy anathema to their view of Israel as a liberal democracy. Emphasis on ‘liberal’.

Netanyahu’s politically conservative views are seen as antithetical to theirs. Which they believe are epitome of justice and light. Whereas the conservative Netanyahu is seen as a despotic throwback to the dark ages. And even anti democratic.

There is no doubt that Netanyahu is a political conservative. But for me and probably for most of observant Jewry that is a good thing. Conservatives tend to be more favorably disposed to religious values whereas liberals tend to be more favorably disposed to humanistic values.

One should, however, discard those biases and try to evaluate his legacy honestly. Netanyahu is not the threat to democracy described in a recent column by Chicago Jewish News editor and avowed liberal, Joe Aaron. (An observant Jew).  One must weigh any wrongdoing against the entirety of his political career – and especially his tenure as prime minister. For this I recommend an article by Shumley Boteach in the JerusalemPost. I believe he sums up Netanyahu’s legacy thus far quite nicely - and am hard pressed to see anyone seriously disputing his accomplishments. Unless they use a lot of negative spin. Here are some notable excerpts: 
Just yesterday, Israelis woke to the shocking and welcome news that the president of Chad was arriving for a visit. Though the majority-Muslim, Arabic-speaking nation does not have any diplomatic relations with Israel, President Idriss Déby paid the first-ever presidential visit to Israel since its founding.
This came on the heels of a string of diplomatic victories for Israel on the African continent. With three Africa trips in just two years, the prime minister has visited Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda and Liberia...
(Bibi has) ramped up (Israel’s) connections with Muslim states in Africa, including Mali, Somalia and the Republic of Guinea, which recently renewed diplomatic relations with Israel for the first time in nearly 50 years... 
In the past few months, the world has witnessed a rapport between Israel and many of the Gulf states that would, just months ago, have been unthinkable.
Now, just add to that the retired Saudi officials who recently shared a stage with retired Israeli peers, the unofficial yet very real Israeli diplomatic outpost in Abu Dhabi, and the overwhelmingly reliable rumors of deep cooperation between Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Gulf intelligence directorates, and you have a true diplomatic revolution...
On the security front, there is the constant threat of Iran and its proxy army Hezbollah. Bibi has kept the terrorist group from getting its blood-soaked hands on sophisticated weaponry making its way across Syria from Tehran. Here, he has shown both aggression in his willingness to strike high-risk targets throughout Syria, but also the interpersonal skills that have allowed him to keep the Russians generally aware of and agreeable to Israel’s security needs. 
Those are just some of the things that have happened under Netanyahu’s watch. There are a whole bunch more listed in Boteach’s Jerusalem Post article – which is well worth reading in its entirety.

As Boteach notes, a lot of this can be attributed (at least in part) to current events outside of Netayahu’s influence.  But as he also notes, the buck has to stop somewhere. If Netanyahu is to be held accountable for failure it’s only fair that we give him credit for his successes. I could not agree more.