When Aviv Bushinsky thinks of a moment that defines Benjamin Netanyahu, he thinks back to a day just before the dawn of the new millennium.
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he → think → millennium
Bushinsky, a well-known former Israeli radio journalist, had worked as a media adviser for Netanyahu during his ill-fated first term as prime minister, which began in 1996.
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which → know → 1996
After Netanyahu was thrashed by Labor’s Ehud Barak in 1999, he quit parliament rather than stay on in opposition.
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he → thrash → opposition
The political career of Israel’s youngest prime minister looked to be over at age 49.
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career → look → age
While helping Netanyahu transition to civilian life by unpacking books at his private office in Jerusalem, Bushinsky remembers Netanyahu turning to him and saying: “OK, now we are working on our comeback.”
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we → help → comeback
“We worked on the comeback for two years – we called it the new Bibi campaign – and it worked.
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it → work → it
It really worked,” Bushinsky told this masthead during an interview in Tel Aviv in the lead-up to this week’s Israeli elections.
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Bushinsky → work → elections
Netanyahu quickly returned to politics, serving as foreign minister, finance minister and opposition leader before returning to the prime ministership in 2009.
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Netanyahu → return → 2009
“He’s a hell of a campaigner,” Bushinsky said.
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Bushinsky → ’ → campaigner
“He’s a huge fighter, he will never bend down.”
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he → ’ → ?
Although Netanyahu’s polls looked grim ahead of Tuesday’s elections, Bushinsky was not writing off the possibility of his former boss remaining in office.
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boss → look → office
Even so, he admits he was stunned by Netanyahu’s performance on election night.
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he → admit → night
Not only did his conservative Likud party easily win the most seats in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, but his right-wing bloc outperformed the opposition “change” bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
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bloc → win → Eisenkot
With 99 per cent of the vote counted, Netanyahu and his allies secured 53 seats, ahead of the main opposition’s bloc of 48, but short of the 61-seat majority needed to rule without further backing.
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Netanyahu → count → backing
Israel’s two Arab party groupings are projected to win an unprecedented 19 seats.
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groupings → project → seats
The opinion surveys by three of Israel’s main television networks – Channels 11, 12 and 13 – had shown Eisenkot’s Yashar party winning the most seats and the change bloc outperforming Netanyahu’s.
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bloc → show → Netanyahu
While negotiations to form a government still have a long way to go, Netanyahu remains the prime minister throughout the process, which could take weeks, if not months.
“I was totally caught by surprise,” Bushinsky said after election day.
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Bushinsky → form → day
The systemic undercounting of Netanyahu’s support – a more glaring polling error than the one that occurred before US President Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 election – is already prompting soul-searching and public apologies from Israeli media outlets.
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that → occur → outlets
More substantially, Bushinsky says he was stunned that so many Israelis stood by Netanyahu despite his failure to prevent the October 7, 2023, massacre, his inability to resolve the issue of drafting the ultra-Orthodox refusing to serve in the military, and revelations that top staff members were on Qatar’s payroll while working for him.
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members → say → him
Hamas remains in power in much of Gaza and Hezbollah has not been dismantled in Lebanon.
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Hezbollah → remain → Lebanon
Yet remarkably few voters abandoned the Likud for right-wing alternatives, let alone the more centrist opposition bloc trying to unseat him.
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voters → abandon → him
To be sure, Netanyahu’s party went backwards from the last elections in 2022, but the swing against him was far less than expected.
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swing → go → him
“It was not a clear-cut victory but analysing the result, he did win the elections,” Bushinsky said.
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Bushinsky → cut → elections
When The New Yorker’s David Remnick arrived in Israel in 1998 to profile a more youthful Netanyahu, prominent critics of the new prime minister weren’t hard to find.
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critics → arrive → minister
“He’s not a trustworthy man,” Yitzhak Shamir, the previous Likud prime minister, told Remnick.
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Shamir → ’ → Remnick
“I don’t believe he believes anything.
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he → believe → anything
He has a huge ego.
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He → have → ego
People don’t like such people.
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People → like → people
I don’t like him.”
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I → like → him
Labor’s Shimon Peres, whom Netanyahu narrowly defeated in 1996, said: “Netanyahu’s only consideration is his own coalition.
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consideration → defeat → 1996
He’s always worried about losing power – that is always his first priority.”
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that → ’ → power
Peres accused Netanyahu of damaging Israel’s global image by undermining the peace process with the Palestinians.
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Peres → accuse → Palestinians
Three decades later, precisely the same criticisms are still made of Netanyahu – and with even more force.
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criticisms → make → force
Internationally, he is widely loathed and has brought Israel’s standing down with him.
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he → loathe → him
Seventy-eight per cent of Australians have little to no faith in him to do the right thing for world affairs, according to a June poll released by the Pew Research Centre that found he is among the world’s most unpopular leaders.
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he → have → leaders
He has been accused of war crimes in the International Criminal Court, and Israel faces genocide charges in the International Court of Justice for its conduct in the war in Gaza.
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Israel → accuse → Gaza
Within Israel, he is a polarising figure, loathed by the left but still commanding remarkable loyalty, and even devotion, among Likud’s conservative base.
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he → polarise → base
The fierce bond between Netanyahu and his supporters was on display ahead of election day at Jerusalem’s thriving Mahaneh Yehudah Market.
Selling knafeh desserts at a market stall, Asher Biton, 53, said Israel had been “in chaos” and “very tense” over the past three years.
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Israel → sell → years
“We want a normal life,” he said.
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he → want → life
“We don’t want wars.”
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We → want → wars
…and 41 more, not listed.
The Aporia
