WhatsappFor more than 30 years, Benjamin Netanyahu has been the #1 spokesman of the State of Israel. His leadership has always been in the public eye. And nearly, every time, he has masterfully played the Israeli press, the foreign press, Congress, and US President’s like a fiddle. But there have been times that he has made serious mistakes.
Back in 1996, Netanyahu squeaked into the Prime Minister’s chair following a razor sharp election. Until 1:30 AM on the night of the election, all of the radio stations and TV stations in Israel were discussing Shimon Peres’ victory and who would serve in what posts. But, a few critical constituencies made the difference and Netanyahu won. Despite the closeness of the election, the results were not contested. Looking back, Netanyahu’s effective communication of his “peace through strength” message was probably the single most important political factor in the election. The constant wave of terror attacks in the months and years leading up to the election rattled the sense of security of millions of Israelis. Shimon Peres was viewed as weak in confronting the terror organizations. Netanyahu came off as more determined to fight them. Netanyahu won.
But a few years later, in 1999, Netanyahu lost his seat as Prime Minister to his former Army Commander, Ehud Barak. Barak had the impeccable Army record and Netanyahu was seen as weak in confronting Yasser Arafat and the PLO. He seemed to be more of a talker than a doer. Netanyahu lost, but he learned his lesson. He would never let himself be portrayed as weak in dealing with safety and security. Since then, Netanyahu has not really ever lost an election, although he once could not manage to cobble together a coalition.
What Netanyahu does here is – in perfect English – in order to stabilize his base in Israel and send a message to any future President in America that Israel is in charge of it’s domestic affairs. He is doing this as the right wing parties in Israel now hold the key to his hold on power and he must give in to their pressure to stay in power. So, he has moved to the right as his country has.
He is the consummate politician – less an ideologue, and more of a master of negotiation and political maneuvering.
