Familiar face at center stage in Israeli elections
Netanyahu, still on trial and still well-positioned
BAT YAM, Israel — On paper, he is hardly the ideal candidate.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, was ousted 16 months ago — prompting political eulogies at the end of a 12-year run — and is still standing trial on corruption charges.
But as Israel gears up for another general election, its fifth in less than four years, Netanyahu, a seasoned political phoenix running this time from the opposition, appears better positioned than any of his rivals to lead the next government coalition.
“He’s the strongest political player, despite it all,” said Mazal Mualem, an Israeli political commentator and the author of a newly released biography of Netanyahu in Hebrew, “Cracking the Netanyahu Code.” “That he has survived till now is proof of his power,” she said. “Beyond being a politician, he is a social and cultural phenomenon.”
Still, despite the loyalty that he has enjoyed so far from his conservative party, Likud; from his political allies; and from supporters drawn to his messages emphasizing the country’s Jewish identity, Netanyahu remains a divisive figure in Israel and may nevertheless fail to deliver them a clear victory.
Preelection opinion polls are showing an electorate almost evenly split between the proand anti-Netanyahu camps, with Likud getting the most votes, but each side falling short of a majority. Some political analysts are already predicting a sixth election, most likely next spring.
Netanyahu, 73, universally known by his childhood nickname, Bibi, has not emerged from an election with a clear majority for Likud and its allies since 2015, as political polarization, paralysis and chaos have gripped the country.
His opponents have also been unable to build a stable coalition, with the government of Naftali Bennett collapsing this past summer. Yair Lapid took over as the caretaker prime minister of a transitional government. His centrist Yesh Atid party is currently polling second after Likud.
Although the recent election campaign has been marked by voter fatigue, Netanyahu has run an energetic race, flooding social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok with snappy videos and campaigning vigorously around Israel.
Netanyahu also used his time in the opposition to write an autobiography, “Bibi: My Story.” Published this month, the English version was instantly ranked as an Amazon bestseller.
And he did not let up in his unrelenting efforts to bring down the last government, led by Bennett, which imploded after a year.
All of that has helped bolster support for him and his political allies. Many Israelis still view him as the most qualified candidate to handle the country’s security, diplomacy, and economy.
Even his corruption trial, in which the Jerusalem District Court is slogging its way through a list of more than 300 witnesses, has earned him added sympathy and admiration from Israelis who agree with his claims that he has been “framed” by a liberal deep state,
‘He’s the strongest political player, despite it all.’
MAZAL MUALEM Israeli political commentator and the author of a newly released biography of Netanyahu
and the court proceedings have largely dropped from the public agenda.
One reason for Netanyahu’s success, according to Mualem and several current and former Netanyahu aides and strategists, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, is his unrivaled domination of the social network realm. That allows him to bypass the mainstream media, which he has long viewed as biased, and speak directly to his public. Fluent in “Jewish language” and sentiment, Mualem said, he also manages to appeal to ultra-Orthodox voters, even though he is secular.
Netanyahu’s focus is on getting every Likud voter out on Election Day, after tens of thousands sat out the 2021 election or voted for other parties.
Hoping to win over soft-right waverers, Netanyahu has been less divisive than in the past, ceasing his attacks on the police and the judiciary and leaving that to some of his Likud stalwarts. Vilifying Arab politicians as “supporters of terrorism,” he emphasizes Israel’s Jewish identity and need for a Jewish government. But he has also been sending calming messages in Arabic to the Arab minority.
His campaign has also homed in on Likud strongholds where previous turnout has been low, with his “Bibi-mobile” — a converted removal truck with one side replaced by bulletproof glass through which he speaks to supporters — showing up at rallies (known as Bibi-Ba, for Bibi is Back) across the country.
This month, the Bibi-mobile turned up in a public park in Bat Yam, a mostly low-income Likud beach town south of Tel Aviv where voter turnout was under 50 percent in 2021.
The moment a screen lifted to reveal Netanyahu behind the bulletproof glass, the audience — mostly locals who had ambled down from their apartments, some in undershirts, sweat pants, and flip-flops — was instantly energized.
“Good evening, Bat Yam!” Netanyahu boomed, on his third campaign stop of the night.
It took on a pantomime quality as a heavily made-up Netanyahu asked the crowd if they wanted another year of Lapid’s Israeli-Palestinian government (“No!”) or if they wanted Israel back (“Yes!”). Mentions of the Lapid government — which includes Ra’am, a small, Islamic party — elicited boos.
As the crowd chanted, “Bibi, King of Israel!” Netanyahu moved on to a fourth stop, in another park across town. “Good evening, Bat Yam!” he boomed, as if it were his first time.
Tzachi Hanegbi, a veteran Likud lawmaker and former minister, said in an interview that if Netanyahu had wanted to save himself from his trial, he could have entered into a plea bargain with authorities.
Netanyahu remains the leading candidate, Hanegbi said, because he retains a sense of mission, believing that Israel’s fate rests on his shoulders, and “because he wants it more than anybody else.”