And yet, in my view, Netanyahu has been one of the most
consequential leaders the State of Israel has ever had. In my opinion, he
deserves another term in office, if he so chooses. I don’t know what the polls
currently show, and I’m sure there are plenty of Israeli voters from all walks
of life—whether on the political left or right, Charedi, Dati, or secular - who
would strongly disagree. Not the least among them are some of his former
political allies, including members of his own Likud party.
Why do I think so? I believe it’s fair to explain my
perspective.
On the domestic front, Netanyahu, while still Finance
Minister under Ariel Sharon, began to turn Israel’s economy away from its
socialist origins and steer it toward a free-market economy. That
transformation led to remarkable prosperity and encouraged a wave of foreign
investment. The fact that Israel came to be known as the “Start-Up Nation” is
largely due to Netanyahu’s economic policies, which favored unfettered
innovation in the tech sector.
As important as that is, what he has accomplished since the
October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack is nothing short of extraordinary.
At that point, Israel was at a low point. Its vaunted military intelligence
apparatus had experienced a catastrophic and unprecedented failure. Many
pundits believed Israel would never recover, and that its intelligence services
had lost all credibility.
But Netanyahu did not let that stop him. He became
laser-focused on eliminating the evil in Israel’s midst and launched a war
against Hamas that they surely never expected. Today, Hamas is a shadow of its
former self. Its leadership has been decimated, and its Iranian patrons and
suppliers have themselves suffered devastating setbacks.
To Israel’s north, Hezbollah met a similar fate. Israel’s
brilliant military intelligence strategy led to operations that literally
exploded in their faces, killing their top echelon of leadership. Including
long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah and his successors. They, too, are now a
shadow of what they once were. With that victory, Netanyahu restored global
respect for Israel’s intelligence services. Long before October 7th,
Netanyahu had approved a plan to deceive Hezbollah’s second-tier leaders into
buying booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies, which Israel later detonated at
will. Precisely when they needed to do it.
As a result of the now-neutered Hezbollah, Syria’s pro-Iran,
pro-Hezbollah dictator Bashar al-Assad lost his protector and was soon
overthrown, along with the Iran-backed militias stationed there.
And then came Netanyahu’s bold and fateful decision to
attack Iran directly. A move many pundits called suicidal. Iran had the most
powerful military in the Middle East: the IRGC, a highly motivated and
ideologically driven force dedicated to Israel’s destruction. Its political
leadership had long been waiting for an excuse to unleash their massive arsenal
of ballistic missiles.
That fear was quickly dispelled. After twelve days of war
and deep infiltration into Iran’s military and political infrastructure, Israel
succeeded in assassinating several top military leaders and nuclear scientists
- many of them while they slept - and bombing key nuclear facilities with
pinpoint accuracy, guided by reliable intelligence.
With Iran significantly weakened, the United States seized
the opportunity to finish the job and demolish its most vital nuclear facility
at Fordow without suffering a single casualty or facing any resistance.
‘They said it couldn’t be done.’ But with determination and
clarity of vision, Netanyahu did it. Even against the advice of some of his
closest advisors.
The Abraham Accords have never been more significant than
they are now. The potential for Syria to join the accords - possibly even
ceding the Golan Heights to Israel - was unthinkable before the chain of events
initiated by Netanyahu. Today, it is within the realm of possibility. Israel’s
relationship with the U.S. has never been closer than it is now under
Netanyahu.
I don’t see how anyone can deny that this is the most
impressive display of Israeli leadership since at least the Six-Day War of
1967.
What about all the negatives? In my view, they pale in
comparison. Let us look at some of them.
There are still hostages in Hamas captivity - an area where
Netanyahu has not yet been fully successful. But allowing Hamas to survive in
order to negotiate the release of those hostages would have allowed them to
regroup, rearm, and attack again—likely with even more terrorists released from
Israeli prisons. That was not a realistic option. And in any case, it may have
prevented many of the successes Netanyahu has achieved.
(A hostage deal recently proposed by the U.S. has been
accepted by Israel but rejected by Hamas, who added an unacceptable condition. Netanyahu will be visiting the White House this week. That’s where things stand now.)
That the political left hates Netanyahu is nothing new. That
many hostage families have joined mass protest demonstrations against him
during the war is also not new. They are largely the same people who protested
Netanyahu before the war. Not all hostage families share their views, but the
media mostly ignores those who don’t.
Much of the secular and Dati opposition stems from
Netanyahu’s political alliance with the Charedi parties, who demand continued
exemptions from military service. I am as upset by that as anyone and have
expressed my displeasure with these exemptions. Many times. But Netanyahu’s
ability to promise them everything and deliver nothing has kept the status quo.
They haven’t gotten their way, even if many voters are upset that he didn’t
pass a law ending their draft exemptions. Netanyahu is a master politician with
few peers, unafraid to make enemies - even among his biggest supporters - if it
helps him stay in power.
Then there are the corruption charges for which he is currently
being tried in court. I’m sure the charges have legal merit. But there is
little doubt in my mind that they were brought by political enemies. (if I
understand correctly, the prosecution’s case is now falling apart.)
Accusations of accepting Cuban cigars and expensive
champagne as gifts - while technically illegal - pale in comparison to the
historic accomplishments Netanyahu has achieved. As reported during Israel’s
bombing campaign in Iran:
Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday endorsed Israel’s airstrikes on Iran, saying it was doing essential work for Germany and others.
“This is the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us,” Merz told the ZDF broadcaster during an interview on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada.
You can despise him all you want. And even have good reasons for doing so. But you must give credit where credit is due. If you’re being honest and not trying to ‘explain away’ his achievements, as no achievement at all - it becomes impossible to deny their scope and importance.
Yes, Israel has suffered a PR disaster due to how the legacy
media is covering Gaza - relying heavily on Hamas-run sources, biased
Palestinian reporters, and longstanding anti-Israel UN officials and NGOs.
Medical staff often cited are also Palestinian expatriate volunteers in Gaza
with longstanding grievances. To rely on such sources for a balanced view of
Israel’s actions is like trusting the International Red Cross’s glowing reports
on Theresienstadt, the Nazi “model” concentration camp.
Sadly, the media’s mantra of ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ ensures that the bloodiest images dominate coverage - images that, while not representative, shape public perception.
In reality, no one truly knows what’s happening on the
ground in Gaza. But the imagery and narratives being broadcast shape public
opinion in ways that may be wildly disconnected from the truth.
If one looks at the totality of what has transpired in the
Middle East since October 7th and understands that the legacy media
cannot be trusted to provide unbiased reporting, then it becomes undeniable:
under Netanyahu’s leadership, Israel has achieved unprecedented victories and
made the world a far safer place - for everyone. And for that he deserves another
term.
