Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has been out of power. After 12 years, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid have ended the Netanyahu era. Known as ‘King Bibi’ among his supporters, the former prime minister was once considered politically invincible. Netanyahu’s legacy is disputed because for supporters he is about to turn Israel from a small country into a regional superpower, while for critics he is the one to destroy democratic institutions.
But it cannot be denied that Netanyahu is one of Israel’s most influential leaders. He has been out of power but his influence has not diminished.
Those in the new government, such as Bennett, Gideon Saar, Ayelet Shaked, have once been Netanyahu’s disciples. His party Likud is still the largest political party in Israel.
Journey from Army to Politics
Born in Tel Aviv in 1949, Benjamin Netanyahu spent most of his childhood in America. He returned to Israel at the age of 18 and served in the army for a few years. Netanyahu was a member of Israel’s elite commando force ‘Sayaret Matkal’ and took part in the 1973 war.
In 1976, Netanyahu’s brother Jonathan was killed during a mission in Uganda. Jonathan’s death had a deep impact on the Netanyahu family and the family’s name became a legend in Israel.
After serving in the army, Netanyahu was sent to America in 1982 as Deputy Chief of Mission. This incident changed Netanyahu’s life. Due to his stay in America for many years, his bid seemed to be there. Netanyahu had become a well-known name on American TV channels, a strong advocate of Israel.Â
After returning to Israel in 1988, Netanyahu contested from Likud, won and became deputy foreign minister. Netanyahu became prime minister for the first time in 1996. The elections were held after the Yitzhak Rabin and Oslo agreements. Netanyahu became the youngest Israeli prime minister born after the country’s founding.
The decision to hold elections in 1999 proved to be wrong for Netanyahu. He lost and continued to hold other ministerial posts in governments for many years. By 2009, the Likud party had split and Netanyahu was its leader again. Netanyahu won the elections held that year and remained prime minister for 12 years after that. Â
Netanyahu’s legacy
Critics accuse Netanyahu of dividing Israeli society. Likud has never received more than 30-35% of the vote under Netanyahu. However, journalist Anchelle Pfeiffer, who wrote her biography, says that ‘how genius Bibi is, it is not the votes she gets, but her alliances.’
Netanyahu has been the target of his critics for alliances. Netanyahu has drawn support from all kinds of right-wing parties and groups to stay in power. Israeli experts say that due to the support of power, many fundamentalist, religious and conservative parties had become mainstream.
Netanyahu has also been accused of creating a gulf between the Arab and Jewish communities for his political gains. Netanyahu introduced a law in 2018, which lowered the standard of the Arab language. Although this law was symbolic, but in Israel it is said to destroy the values ​​of democracy.
Palestine issue further complicated
Benjamin Netanyahu publicly announced in 2009 that he accepted Palestine’s presence with Israel on “certain conditions”. But Netanyahu later backed down and said in an interview, “Palestine will not be formed.”
Netanyahu’s policy of establishing a settlement in the West Bank and Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem has been widely criticized by Western countries and human rights organizations.
During Barack Obama’s tenure, the US pressured Netanyahu to change his policy regarding the Palestine issue. However, with the arrival of Donald Trump, it became easier for Netanyahu to work on these policies. Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, due to which Palestine cut ties with the White House.
Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, together brokered the Abrahamic Accords between Israel and many of its neighbors, further complicating the situation for the Palestinian people.
During Netanyahu’s 12 years in office, Israel and Hamas have had four violent conflicts in Gaza. The last time this happened was in May 2021. Corruption cases are going on against Netanyahu, he has been out of power, questions are also being raised about the leadership of Likud, but no one can deny that Netanyahu’s politics is not over yet.
