I could not agree more, though I would go a bit easier on Mr. Netanyahu at the present moment, given he is leading a country at war. On the other hand, his previous dithering does not bode well for the day after. The test will come when Israel conquers Gaza. Will it annex it, lock down the Palestinians, then turn the IDF guns on Ramallah and exert sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and lock down the Palestinians there? If not, then he too must go and the Israelis have to decide if they want to be a sovereign nation or not. But going before the UN with pleading is useless and misguided. Trump's statements are also silly and misguided, but he too understands little about the Arab Muslim world. See my latest piece on substack "The end of God's promise" for support for the thrust of your argument, which is basically correct. Time for Jews to push back strongly.
The UN is mainly composed of undemocratic antisemitic dictatorships of one sort or another.
Israel is the only democracy in the entire region.
I am English; we have a liar for a Prime Minister, just like the last one, like the ones we've endured ever since 1990. I do not personally believe we have had a Prime Minister who really believes in our country since 1990 - hopefully that will change in '99 or sooner.
In Bibi, as with your preceding Prime Ministers, you have a man who believes in your nation and in its people. He sets an example I only wish more of the West would follow.
By all means criticise his policies if you do not like them.
By all means vote for someone else if you so wish - at least you CAN vote for someone else unlike the genuine liar Abbas in the 21st year of a four year term of office.
At least you CAN criticise Bibi's policies, or Bibi personally without being shot in the head, burned alive or thrown off a high building. I respectfully suggest that your use of ad hominem and the bland 'liar' epithet conflates Bibi with the likes of Abbas, Arafat, Sinwar & Co.
You play to a gallery which includes your enemies. Your homicidal enemies.
Israel is quite possibly the only country in the world to which I would emigrate - I am not a Jew.
My point in calling Netanyahu a liar, and in naming the essay that way, is precisely because good, well-meaning people like you can be misled by the speech without appreciating the full Israeli context. Yes, it sounded strong in parts. But his actions have brought us to October 7th, and his actions have allowed the Palestinian Authority and Gaza to survive and arm themselves. He condemns the idea of a Palestinian state, yet under his leadership that state in practice has been allowed to exist for decades. That contradiction makes the words a lie, and him a liar.
Of course I never suggested he is equivalent to Abbas or Sinwar. He is not. In fact, I think he may be one of the best Western leaders of our era, but that only shows how dreadful the era is. Nearly all of today’s leaders are terrible. That does not absolve Netanyahu of accountability. As an Israeli, I believe I must judge the man responsible for my country’s fate not by his speeches, but by his deeds. And those deeds have failed us.
I like your blog post, but I strongly disagree with your assertions of Bibi being a liar. I think this is deeply uncalled for.
You talk about actions that have lead to Oct-7.
1) You have to account for hindsight bias. It's easy today to isolate an event and postulate Oct-7 as the natural consequence. But, it's more complicated than that. Israel has to weigh different options and the PM reflects the will of that society that has elected him.
2) Israel is not a dictatorship - they have a cabinet and the prime minister makes decisions in consultation and in tune with the machinery of government. I don't think you can pin Arafat, or anything else, on him per se. And then accuse him of being a liar.
I think it is reasonable to say with certainty that his tenure as our prime minister has allowed Gaza to develop into the entity that launched on October 7th. It doesn't require hindsight to say that allowing such an entity to co-exist next to Israel would lead to catastrophic events, as it has tried to do throughout the years in the various "Operations" that preceded October 7th.
As the prime minister for almost the entire preceding decade, he carries the most moral burden for October 7th; I don't think there's much doubt about it.
He carried the legacy of the Oslo Accords and turned Israel into a sort of American satellite state, where we are almost fully dependent on them for security.
If you really want examples of his lies, I can provide you with one good one that you can look up very easily. In 2009, he was elected prime minister, and one of his promises was to "crush the Hamas regime in Gaza."
I couldn't find an English version, but this is the original video:
Of course, all politicians lie, but his lies allowed the worst disaster of the Jewish people since the Holocaust to happen.
This doesn't mean that I "blame him for October 7th", as some of the comments here maliciously suggested; October 7th was obviously a massacre committed by the Palestinian people and not by Benjamin Netanyahu, but Netanyahu, as the leader of the nation, has neglected Israel's security so badly that this insane event was made possible. I don't think anyone can doubt that.
Sure, the military and other key figures in the country are also to blame, but they are not the leaders. All of them could and should've been sacked by Netanyahu many years ago, but he didn't.
So yes, he IS a liar because he broke the promise he gave the state of Israel to never allow another holocaust to happen. He lied about Hamas being "deterred", lied about that he will crush Hamas, lied about that there's a separation between the Gazans and their military and political leadership, and lied about that he will never allow a Palestinian state (which is where October 7th was launched from).
Suppose you say that "he didn't know" that the Palestinians and their leaders, Hamas, wanted to do something in the fashion of October 7th. In that case, it means he's either stupid or evil, for their charter and entire history literally celebrate and devote their own lives to the purpose of killing as many Jews as possible.
These are crimes far worse than lying, btw, at best this is criminal mismanagement and at worst it's treason.
Now, of course, he has many positive achievements, including the fronts in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Gaza, but that doesn't cleanse him of the more than 2,000 Israelis dead at this point, 1,200 from October 7th. That cannot be glossed over or forgotten.
'Lie' & 'Liar' are ridiculously over-used in these times.
I respectfully suggest that you are focussing irrationally on a possibly unfortunate wart but thereby ignoring the rest of the healthy equivalent body politic and personal.
Churchill and Thatcher could both be critiqued in the minor and the over-egging of such critique may be deliberately aimed at the diminution of the majorly positives.
Your wonderful and inspiring country may - over far many eras than Bibi's - have been guilty of trying to be too kind to the genuinely bad guys, to the genuinely evil.
That certainly doesn't mean you should be unreasonably critical of the good guys.
I don’t agree with everything he, or other leaders have done and they are certainly not above criticism, but what has he lied about specifically that has enabled the PA to thrive?
Blaming Netanyahu for Oct 7 is intellectually and morally dishonest and factually wrong. All reasonable Israelis know that Netanyahu at present has a conflict of interests as he runs the country: he is in it for himself, trying to stay out of jail. And his coalition partners are a disgrace. But he was elected democratically, and that deserves respect. He will be deposed democratically as well. What led to 10/7 was the wrong appreciation of Hamas' capabilities and the mental denial of collective bodies, the naive faith in the containment of Hamas, the" concept" of judging reasonably as we Westerners do, an arrogance on the part of intelligence which denied facts presented to them, the trust in Qatar. Hell was paved with good intentions much of the way, and you can't crucify people for that. Mistakes were made? Of course. Omission and Commission , so what else is new? One day there will be a huge inquiry in Israel, as there has always been. Many high ranking officials have already resigned, admitting responsibility.
I regret that you chose to undermine Israel at this awful time by casting aspersions and calling Netanyahu a liar. I understand his political opposition protesting particular items, but ad hominem crosses a red line. He might have made a better speech, included other items, being more aggressive towards the UN, as Trump was, and more. Whatever. But not what you presented. Disappointing.
Regardless of whether Netanyahu is a liar, and I do believe he is one, no one who believes in freedom and individual rights should have anything to do with the farce that is the United Nations.
Every war leader needs to make speeches. Churchill was the most famous orator of his time. He was on the radio frequently explaining the war and its aims. You cannot win a war without eloquent leadership!
I could not agree more, though I would go a bit easier on Mr. Netanyahu at the present moment, given he is leading a country at war. On the other hand, his previous dithering does not bode well for the day after. The test will come when Israel conquers Gaza. Will it annex it, lock down the Palestinians, then turn the IDF guns on Ramallah and exert sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and lock down the Palestinians there? If not, then he too must go and the Israelis have to decide if they want to be a sovereign nation or not. But going before the UN with pleading is useless and misguided. Trump's statements are also silly and misguided, but he too understands little about the Arab Muslim world. See my latest piece on substack "The end of God's promise" for support for the thrust of your argument, which is basically correct. Time for Jews to push back strongly.
The day after, does not bode well. Israeli Justice will have its say.
wow; a very well written article.. you didn't pull any punches...
shame they didnt ask u to write up his speech...
Thank you! I’d very happy to write and deliver
Excellent! A just war is not won through explanations.
I think the title of your article is way over the top and inappropriate.
Sorry - it detracts from the message you're trying to communicate.
Is he not a liar and this isn’t a hall of liars?
The UN is mainly composed of undemocratic antisemitic dictatorships of one sort or another.
Israel is the only democracy in the entire region.
I am English; we have a liar for a Prime Minister, just like the last one, like the ones we've endured ever since 1990. I do not personally believe we have had a Prime Minister who really believes in our country since 1990 - hopefully that will change in '99 or sooner.
In Bibi, as with your preceding Prime Ministers, you have a man who believes in your nation and in its people. He sets an example I only wish more of the West would follow.
By all means criticise his policies if you do not like them.
By all means vote for someone else if you so wish - at least you CAN vote for someone else unlike the genuine liar Abbas in the 21st year of a four year term of office.
At least you CAN criticise Bibi's policies, or Bibi personally without being shot in the head, burned alive or thrown off a high building. I respectfully suggest that your use of ad hominem and the bland 'liar' epithet conflates Bibi with the likes of Abbas, Arafat, Sinwar & Co.
You play to a gallery which includes your enemies. Your homicidal enemies.
Israel is quite possibly the only country in the world to which I would emigrate - I am not a Jew.
My point in calling Netanyahu a liar, and in naming the essay that way, is precisely because good, well-meaning people like you can be misled by the speech without appreciating the full Israeli context. Yes, it sounded strong in parts. But his actions have brought us to October 7th, and his actions have allowed the Palestinian Authority and Gaza to survive and arm themselves. He condemns the idea of a Palestinian state, yet under his leadership that state in practice has been allowed to exist for decades. That contradiction makes the words a lie, and him a liar.
Of course I never suggested he is equivalent to Abbas or Sinwar. He is not. In fact, I think he may be one of the best Western leaders of our era, but that only shows how dreadful the era is. Nearly all of today’s leaders are terrible. That does not absolve Netanyahu of accountability. As an Israeli, I believe I must judge the man responsible for my country’s fate not by his speeches, but by his deeds. And those deeds have failed us.
Hi Yonatan,
I like your blog post, but I strongly disagree with your assertions of Bibi being a liar. I think this is deeply uncalled for.
You talk about actions that have lead to Oct-7.
1) You have to account for hindsight bias. It's easy today to isolate an event and postulate Oct-7 as the natural consequence. But, it's more complicated than that. Israel has to weigh different options and the PM reflects the will of that society that has elected him.
2) Israel is not a dictatorship - they have a cabinet and the prime minister makes decisions in consultation and in tune with the machinery of government. I don't think you can pin Arafat, or anything else, on him per se. And then accuse him of being a liar.
I think you've been a bit unfair.
Otherwise, big fan of your writing.
Thanks, Liam. I appreciate your comment.
I think it is reasonable to say with certainty that his tenure as our prime minister has allowed Gaza to develop into the entity that launched on October 7th. It doesn't require hindsight to say that allowing such an entity to co-exist next to Israel would lead to catastrophic events, as it has tried to do throughout the years in the various "Operations" that preceded October 7th.
As the prime minister for almost the entire preceding decade, he carries the most moral burden for October 7th; I don't think there's much doubt about it.
He carried the legacy of the Oslo Accords and turned Israel into a sort of American satellite state, where we are almost fully dependent on them for security.
If you really want examples of his lies, I can provide you with one good one that you can look up very easily. In 2009, he was elected prime minister, and one of his promises was to "crush the Hamas regime in Gaza."
I couldn't find an English version, but this is the original video:
https://youtu.be/VXpCFEXPG4w?si=4zpY77GCRcpH_VoM
Of course, all politicians lie, but his lies allowed the worst disaster of the Jewish people since the Holocaust to happen.
This doesn't mean that I "blame him for October 7th", as some of the comments here maliciously suggested; October 7th was obviously a massacre committed by the Palestinian people and not by Benjamin Netanyahu, but Netanyahu, as the leader of the nation, has neglected Israel's security so badly that this insane event was made possible. I don't think anyone can doubt that.
Sure, the military and other key figures in the country are also to blame, but they are not the leaders. All of them could and should've been sacked by Netanyahu many years ago, but he didn't.
So yes, he IS a liar because he broke the promise he gave the state of Israel to never allow another holocaust to happen. He lied about Hamas being "deterred", lied about that he will crush Hamas, lied about that there's a separation between the Gazans and their military and political leadership, and lied about that he will never allow a Palestinian state (which is where October 7th was launched from).
Suppose you say that "he didn't know" that the Palestinians and their leaders, Hamas, wanted to do something in the fashion of October 7th. In that case, it means he's either stupid or evil, for their charter and entire history literally celebrate and devote their own lives to the purpose of killing as many Jews as possible.
These are crimes far worse than lying, btw, at best this is criminal mismanagement and at worst it's treason.
Now, of course, he has many positive achievements, including the fronts in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Gaza, but that doesn't cleanse him of the more than 2,000 Israelis dead at this point, 1,200 from October 7th. That cannot be glossed over or forgotten.
'Lie' & 'Liar' are ridiculously over-used in these times.
I respectfully suggest that you are focussing irrationally on a possibly unfortunate wart but thereby ignoring the rest of the healthy equivalent body politic and personal.
Churchill and Thatcher could both be critiqued in the minor and the over-egging of such critique may be deliberately aimed at the diminution of the majorly positives.
Your wonderful and inspiring country may - over far many eras than Bibi's - have been guilty of trying to be too kind to the genuinely bad guys, to the genuinely evil.
That certainly doesn't mean you should be unreasonably critical of the good guys.
I don’t agree with everything he, or other leaders have done and they are certainly not above criticism, but what has he lied about specifically that has enabled the PA to thrive?
What specific lies are you talking about?
Be specific. What has he lied about? Name one thing….
Blaming Netanyahu for Oct 7 is intellectually and morally dishonest and factually wrong. All reasonable Israelis know that Netanyahu at present has a conflict of interests as he runs the country: he is in it for himself, trying to stay out of jail. And his coalition partners are a disgrace. But he was elected democratically, and that deserves respect. He will be deposed democratically as well. What led to 10/7 was the wrong appreciation of Hamas' capabilities and the mental denial of collective bodies, the naive faith in the containment of Hamas, the" concept" of judging reasonably as we Westerners do, an arrogance on the part of intelligence which denied facts presented to them, the trust in Qatar. Hell was paved with good intentions much of the way, and you can't crucify people for that. Mistakes were made? Of course. Omission and Commission , so what else is new? One day there will be a huge inquiry in Israel, as there has always been. Many high ranking officials have already resigned, admitting responsibility.
I regret that you chose to undermine Israel at this awful time by casting aspersions and calling Netanyahu a liar. I understand his political opposition protesting particular items, but ad hominem crosses a red line. He might have made a better speech, included other items, being more aggressive towards the UN, as Trump was, and more. Whatever. But not what you presented. Disappointing.
Hear Hear Hear.
Oh - and I listened to his entire speech in the Hall of Liars - I thought it was inspirational.
Regardless of whether Netanyahu is a liar, and I do believe he is one, no one who believes in freedom and individual rights should have anything to do with the farce that is the United Nations.
I totally agree except that you do not comment on the possibility that the USA can and has restricted supply of armaments and ammunition.
He was much more limited under Biden.
Thank you for your work and an article I found to be excellent!
Every war leader needs to make speeches. Churchill was the most famous orator of his time. He was on the radio frequently explaining the war and its aims. You cannot win a war without eloquent leadership!