As a coalition of anti-Benjamin Netanyahu politicians look to drive him from Israeli politics, many are seizing the opportunity to recast the legacy and motivations of one of the most consequential world leaders of the last century, according to Aaron Klein, a senior adviser to the prime minister.
Writing in a featured opinion piece in Newsweek, Klein says the 71-year-old prime minister still has the drive to push for the betterment of the Jewish state with the determination to succeed first made evident when Netanyahu served five years in the Israel Defense Forces’ Sayeret Matkal elite special forces unit.
It was during that period he was shot in the shoulder releasing hostages on the hijacked Sabena Flight 571 and nearly lost his life during a special forces raid in the Suez Canal during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Klein says you measure a man less by what he says and more by what he achieves, an ethos that casts Netanyahu as an exemplar of a fighting spirit that puts Israel’s needs above his own. He observes:
It is no exaggeration to say that I’ve never seen Netanyahu take a break from working for Israel. Not even once. When he is in the car, he’s on the phone working the entire drive. He eats his meals, usually in under three minutes, while he is in work meetings or on the phone working. He rebuffs anyone who attempts to give him some time or privacy to eat. He even simultaneously works during the few minutes he occasionally spends browsing the news. Many of his aides, one-third his age, struggle to keep up with him.
Netanyahu’s personal philosophy is that when it comes to securing the state of Israel, not a minute can be wasted. And that philosophy has paid massive dividends for Israel, with Netanyahu already solidifying a legacy that has made the Jewish state one of the world’s most powerful nations.
Netanyahu has much to be proud of over his dynamic tenure, starting on the domestic front.
Klein says the past year alone has seen Israel’s shekel soar to new heights while its high credit ratings have been maintained, and its GDP losses during the coronavirus pandemic were half that of much of Europe.
Tax revenue, credit card spending and other key indicators show the Israeli economy quickly bouncing back, all played out against the backdrop of a world struggling to find its feet during a catastrophic 16 months of economic dislocation.
He has been just as busy in securing allies across the Middle East, with Klein writing Netanyahu signed four historic peace deals with Arab countries that have redefined regional peacemaking.
Israel is set to make peace with four more Arab countries in the region, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. https://t.co/PigdAUCkPQ
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 16, 2021
He holds the agreements with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan “exemplify the Netanyahu Doctrine of peace through strength and peace in exchange for peace—as opposed to the tried and failed paradigm of unilateral Israeli territorial concessions for empty promises of peace.”
It is a wonder that Netanyahu has been able to achieve any of these things against the “constant stream of venomous lies lobbed his way by opportunist politicians and left-wing media,” Klein outlines, before adding:
Ironically, some of those same politicians are now betraying promises to voters to create an unhinged, ideologically incomprehensible government that even its champions fully admit is driven by personal hatred of one man. Such a government will be rendered nearly incapacitated on day one due to a lack of consensus on any serious issue affecting the Jewish state.
Ultimately, Klein writes Netanyahu’s leadership and experience are required to “successfully complete the immediate, critical work of ensuring that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons, securing the Jewish state from other outside threats, defending against the scandalous antisemitic charges from the International Criminal Court and pursuing the Netanyahu Doctrine to bring peace deals with more Arab nations. ”
Such are the requisite goals and accomplishments of a truly great leader of Israel.
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