As delegates walked out of the United Nations General Assembly in late September, a grinning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired back at the protest: "If there are any other moral cowards who haven't left the hall, please do so now." According to Al Jazeera, this defiant stance is precisely what his supporters want to hear, with former aide Mitchell Barak noting that many in Israel view him as the only leader who makes them proud.
As Israel heads to the polls on October 27, Al Jazeera reports that Netanyahu's most enduring domestic legacy may be the right-wing opposition he faces. He currently seeks re-election while wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Gaza. When he addressed the UN in late September, a sea of delegates walked out in protest, prompting his defiant response from the podium. For his supporters, however, these moments cement his image as a necessary leader, according to comments made to Al Jazeera by his former aide Mitchell Barak.
Background
According to Al Jazeera, Benjamin Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv in 1949 to Benzion Netanyahu and Tzila Segal. His early years were divided between Israel and the United States, influenced by the pessimistic views of his father—a right-wing historian who saw a world fundamentally opposed to the existence of Jews—and the military legacy of his brother, Yonatan, who died in 1976 while leading a raid to rescue hijacked Israeli hostages in Entebbe, Uganda.
His diplomatic and political career spans decades. Al Jazeera reports that in 1982, he was appointed deputy chief of mission at the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, and became Israel's ambassador to the UN two years later. Returning to Israel, he joined the cabinet of then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir as deputy foreign minister in 1988. In 1996, he became Israel's youngest prime minister, leading the first in a series of coalitions. He served a record 12-year tenure from 2009 to 2021, before returning to power for a sixth term to lead the most far-right government in Israel's history.
Why it matters
As reported by Al Jazeera, voters in Israel must choose on October 27 between Netanyahu and an assorted number of rivals who share little common ground other than their absolute opposition to the incumbent prime minister. In the eyes of both supporters and critics, Netanyahu has become the face of modern Israel.
What's next
According to Al Jazeera, Israel is scheduled to hold elections on October 27, where voters will decide between Netanyahu and his political rivals.