Since Israel, and us with it, began to be plagued by the meteoric rise of Benjamin Netanyahu, there has been a consensus around his status as the king of Israel. This is a title that even the state’s founders and its historic leaders were never given.
Netanyahu has broken every record in terms of longevity at the top. He holds the record for the longest tenure as prime minister in Israeli history. He is the master of controlling both followers and opponents, manipulating them to reinforce his grip on power and remain the ultimate decision-maker in Israel.
During his era, failures - no matter how apparent - have been obscured by Israel’s perceived need for a man like him - a figure who is fluent in English and even more fluent in "American," which he has adeptly leveraged in his political game.
Wasn’t he the man who received 40 standing ovations during a single speech to Congress?
Isn’t he a regular in the White House? Even when his relationship with the US president falters for tactical reasons, the disagreements would dissipate, and the doors of the White House would open for him once again.
He was boycotted by President Joe Biden, who only met him, in a hotel, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Afterward, Biden personally came to visit him in Israel - not just Biden, but every major figure in his administration - when the earthquake of October 7, 2023, struck.
Netanyahu’s journey from the bottom to the top convinced his opponents, even before his supporters, that he never picks a fight he doesn’t win, especially in domestic politics. Indeed, his behavior suggests that his mantra has become: “I am Israel, and Israel is me.”
Netanyahu could not have achieved all of that without becoming a master manipulator of the state, its army, institutions, and all its capabilities, which he has rendered mere cards he plays in his leadership game. Even the war on Gaza: the Americans advised him, from the get-go, to stop and pursue a political settlement that would achieve the objectives of the conflict. Not only did he say “no” to the Americans; he dragged them along behind him. They submissively followed as the master of the game, with Biden’s America becoming a carriage Netanyahu towed behind him.
His decisions and behavior demonstrate that Netanyahu, who surged to the top and remained there longer than anyone else in Israel’s history, has become convinced Israel’s fate was tied to his own, and that he could sacrifice the identity and pillars of the deep state as effortlessly as sipping a cup of coffee. Who else, since Israel came into existence, has dared challenge the judiciary and its Supreme Court, turning them into pawns on the chessboard of domestic politics?
And who else would dismiss the defense minister while the army was engaged in fierce battles on seven fronts? He did the same with the chief of staff, the head of Shin Bet, and ministers. He has cast the latter out of his party when their exclusion served his needs only to bring them back into the fold precisely when he needs them.
And who but Netanyahu could carry four corruption cases - cases that could crush mountains - on his shoulders? Any one of them could be enough to send him to prison, or, at best, back home; yet, even with the full weight of these cases pressing down on him, he continues to win both the sprints and the long-distance races in Israel’s political sea.
This is only part of Netanyahu. However, after his achievements fueled his arrogance, he is failing to see the other side of the truth: seats at the top are not eternal. If it took him many years to climb up there, the fall could happen in just one year - the last year of his last term. So what exactly happened?
Before October 7, 2023, the streets would regularly be filled with protesters opposed to his rule. In fact, he couldn’t even access Ben Gurion Airport by car at one point, and had to take a military helicopter that flew him from his home in Jerusalem to the airport.
And when the corruption files were reopened, he desperately sought, along with advisors and lawyers, to find ways to delay the proceedings, using every trick in the book. Nonetheless, the cases remain open and his fears never subsided.
When the streets were overflowing with protesters, he was counting his time in office by the hour. Many deserted him, and only a few remained. Nonetheless, he managed to slip out of the traps set by both members of his own party and others from rival factions, earning him a bit more time – not for salvation but for delays.
On October 7, 2023, Netanyahu found what he had been looking for. He found his path to a comeback under the banner of an existential war imposed on Israel, allowing him to seize back the initiative, not only in matters of war, but in all affairs of the Israeli state.
Since then, he has managed to take back all the strings that had been pulled out of his hands. Most notably, for Israel, with the procession of high-level visits: from the president of the United States to the secretary of state, to the head of the CIA, to the secretary of defense. They were all accompanied by an air bridge connecting Israel and the Pentagon. To win a war the Americans became apprehensive about after just a few weeks, and to maintain the leverage it granted him to stay in power, Netanyahu coined grand ambitions: “total victory,” “existential war,” “a war to reshape the Middle East...”
Today’s Netanyahu is not the Netanyahu of yesterday. His latest scandal revolves around his power games: firing the head of Shin Bet, appointing a replacement, then reversing that decision. Meanwhile he is waging a serious battle against the Supreme Court, which ordered him to postpone the dismissal and replacement; he did not comply.
Netanyahu’s fall from the top began at the start of his latest term as prime minister, and his descent now appears to be reaching its conclusion. This might well be the final year of his long tenure as Israel’s leader. The best thing Netanyahu can do for himself now is to finish his last year in power, avoiding early elections. However, even that is no longer guaranteed.
