Netanyahu: How Israel’s early years shaped his worldview

As Israel counts down to a pivotal electoral race, well there is one man for whom the stakes are higher than all other players. From Israel's youngest to the longest serving Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is eyeing another term in power. Bibi's 18 years at the top post have seen highs and lows. But the Likud leader now stands at an inflection point in his political career. My colleague Dharamjot Kaur gets you all the details. Take a look. October of 1949. It had been just over a year to Israel's creation following a bloody war with Arab nations and mass Palestinian displacement. On 21st of October in 1949, a historian studying Jewish history and nationalism becomes father to a boy, Benjamin Netanyahu. His original family name is Mileikowsky, which his father later changed to Netanyahu. His birth city is Tel Aviv, and growing up, Benjamin Netanyahu's life was shaped predominantly by Israel's early years, when neighborhood conflicts, wars, and national security were central to domestic politics and diplomacy for the newly formed state and the cost of its formation for Palestine as well as for the rest of the world. In his youth, Netanyahu served with Israel's defense forces as part of an elite special ops unit, the Sayeret Matkal. His military stint lasts about five years, from 1967 to 1972. And shortly after, Benjamin Netanyahu goes on to the U.S. to study at MIT. But he returns to Israel, and soon after, the journey towards a political career begins. Netanyahu's tryst first with diplomacy is in the 1980s. He serves in Israel's diplomatic mission in Washington and then from 1984 to 1988 he becomes Israel's ambassador to the UN in the same year after his United Nations stint is over Netanyahu joins the Likud Party back in Israel just months before legislative elections that year he becomes the Knesset lawmaker in that election and within a few years he rises in the ranks in 1993 he becomes the chairman of the Likud Party Three years after leading the party, Benjamin Netanyahu contests as the PM candidate in 1996. He emerges as a strong figure of the country's political right, and his prominence helps him win the election. At just 46 years old, Benjamin Netanyahu becomes the youngest Prime Minister of Israel for the first time. Negotiations with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat become the highlight of this tenure, along with key signings like the Hebron Protocol and the Wye River Memorandum. But the youngest Israeli Prime Minister's government collapses in the year 1999. In early elections, Netanyahu loses to Ehud Barak and steps aside from mainstream politics. After three years on the sidelines, Netanyahu returns to the spotlight in 2002 and this time he comes back as Israel's foreign minister. That role lasts about a year. Then from 2003 to 2005, Netanyahu serves as the finance minister. Netanyahu's biggest and longest tenure comes in the year 2009, when he gets re-elected to power and goes on to lead a succession of coalition governments. His biggest highlight as prime minister comes in 2020, when Israel signed the Abraham Accords along with UAE and Bahrain. Felicitated by the US, this was a major leap for Israel towards normalization with its Arab neighbors. But the political high did not last. In 2021, a broad opposition coalition unseats him and the roles reverse. Netanyahu then serves the next year as the leader of Israel's opposition. But it did not take long for Bibi to return to power. This third wave begins in October 2022, but a lot has transpired in the ongoing term. It is replete with controversies, which began shortly after he assumed power again, and this time leading what many define as Israel's most right-wing government to date. For the last part of 2023, Israelis came out on the streets to protest a controversial judicial overhaul. The scale of that protest only grew as anger mounted on a contentious decision to remove Supreme Court's power to overrule the government and its decisions. But October 7th that year changed the dynamics. The attack by Hamas completely shifted focus off domestic concerns and became all about the war in Gaza. As months passed, more war fronts opened. There were ceasefires that were witnessed and then wars that began again. More recently, the narrative and accusations around Iran have garnered substantial attention within Israel. But even three years on, the Hamas attack is not forgotten, and accountability is still evasive. Benjamin Netanyahu faces increasing questions and scrutiny over failures of October 7th. Murmurs of his corruption cases are still alive. Netanyahu's image as Mr. Security faces a crucial litmus test for his career. But the leader is holding on to Israel's existential crisis as his campaign peg. He has an ally in Donald Trump, but is increasingly isolated on the global stage. When it comes to the ballot on October 27th, which of these things will voters remember most? That is the key question.