It's hard to believe that this is finally the end of twelve consecutive years of Benjamin Netanyahu as Prime Minister of Israel. Like so many Israelis, I can't help but think back to what feels like another lifetime ago before Netanyahu took office for the second time. Unlike millions of younger Israelis who only know an Israel under the leadership of Bibi, I'm reminded of where I was in my life back when Ehud Olmert was in his last year as Prime Minister before the March 2009 election that returned Bibi to power.
I had just drafted into the IDF in November 2008 and spent the initial months of my service up north in the hills of the Upper Galilee, which happened to coincide with the outbreak of Operation Cast Lead that winter. It was a chaotic period to say the least and I ended up briefly shipping off down south during the hostilities in Gaza and Southern Israel before starting kav elsewhere. The Second Lebanon War was also a fresh memory and I still distinctly remember the time when Ehud Barak visited Michve Alon as Defense Minister and met with members of my pluga. The leadership changes to the military under Barak and then IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi allowed the army to retool and improve in the wake of what happened in Lebanon. Despite the recurring rounds of warfare with Hamas, this also ultimately set the ground for Netanyahu's rather successful track record of security as Prime Minister. Despite his rhetoric, Bibi has always been a cautious and deliberate leader and during the past twelve years, Israeli civilian and military casualties from war and terror have never been lower.
During weekend leave back in my South Tel Aviv flat, I'm reminded as well of certain memories of the city from a distinct time and place. The illegal warehouse raves, Riff Raff on Gruzenberg, the Ben Atar squat, the legendary Purim street parties that would go into morning well beyond daybreak, and more. In retrospect, it felt like a different Israel back then. Yet, all of these personal recollections are intertwined. There's a lot more to elaborate on, but in short, the twelve years of Netanyahu and Likud as the leading governing power has left a deep imprint on Israeli society in many ways.
But Israel has always been bigger than one person, and as much as Netanyahu has achieved and accomplished, it's clear that towards the end of his second tenure as Prime Minister he allowed an obsession with power to corrupt his leadership and decision-making. The irony is that Netanyahu was not ousted by his ideological opponents. Labour and Meretz have long ceded influence and lost constituency power among Israelis. But instead, his downfall came from those former allies on the right such as Naftali Bennett, Gideon Sa'ar, and Avigdor Lieberman, close partners who he had betrayed one too many times. The calculated risk to dishonestly dissolve the unity government with Gantz did not pay off and only preempted Netanyahu's inevitable removal from office after failing once more in the last election this March. After failing to conclusively create a mandate and establish a right wing coalition after an unprecedented four elections in two and a half years, Netanyahu's political career was on borrowed time. As opposition leader, I don't expect his influence to diminish immediately, but with the rise of Nir Barkat and recently retired Mossad director Yossi Cohen as potential successors, the future of Likud will likely not include Benjamin Netanyahu.
I can only wish nothing but success and the best of luck to Israel's new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Alternate PM and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. May they safeguard our nation and its citizens while spreading light to all around the power.
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