Opinion of Benjamin Netanyahu

[TDAS04]

Not a good guy.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Not a good guy.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Not a good guy.

[Sir Mohamed]

Major HP.

He's a corrupt dude with little respect for the rule of law. What also makes him horrible are his hardline policies that make a peace agreement with Palestine almost impossible. And that predates October 7. I'm not saying he shouldn't have reacted to the terror attack or just give Hamas what they want. But in the long run, you can't solve the conflict solely on your terms. Of course that's even more difficult by putting far-right parties and religious extremists in your govt.

Both Israel and Palestine would be better off the sooner this dude is out of power.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I am the 13th voter so far and I'm the 13th HP vote.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Pretty sure this will be unanimous HP.  Even the most ardent Israel defenders on this board hate Netanyahu.  Even a majority of the people who live in Israel and vote for Netanyahu, hate Netanyahu.  He's a crook and a cheat and a liar, he embarrasses Israel on the world stage by pandering to extremists, he is responsible for propagating the settler movement that has become a major obstacle to peace, he constantly has an antagonistic and ungrateful attitude towards the United States, overall he just seems like a total douchebag.  And he stays in power because the Israeli parliament is a tangled mess, not because people like him.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

He's probably done more to increase antisemitism than anyone else alive.

[TML]

I can only hope that this current war would eventually force him to go the way of Golda Meir, Menachem Begin, and/or Ehud Olmert (all of whom were forced out of the premiership after losing support/popularity in the aftermath of wars that occurred under their watch).

[All Along The Watchtower]

R-Israel

[Lambsbread]

The 2nd worst person to graduate from Cheltenham High School

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

The 2nd worst person to graduate from Cheltenham High School

What did the L Word lady ever do to you?

[Lambsbread]

The 2nd worst person to graduate from Cheltenham High School

What did the L Word lady ever do to you?

Nothing. I'm #1.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

The 2nd worst person to graduate from Cheltenham High School

What did the L Word lady ever do to you?

Nothing. I'm #1.

See, that's what I thought you meant; I was just giving you the benefit of the doubt.

[President Johnson]

Massive HP

I hope he'll be replaced by Gantz or Lapid rather sooner than later.

[MR DARK BRANDON]

Major HP. Needs to go ASAP.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Alright, who ruined the poll by voting FF.  Show yourselves.  I want answers.

[Fuzzy Bear]

If I were an Israeli Jew living in range of Hamas rockets, I'd view him as an FF.  I'm not, of course, so I can have the luxury of being critical.

Benjamin Netanyahu understands that Hamas (and, indeed, the entire Palestinian Authority) do not recognize Israel's right to exist within ANY borders.  Benjamin Netanyahu understands that as long as Hamas remains in existence; they make no bones about their desire to destroy Israel in its entirety.  I fail to understand why Ukrainians should wholeheartedly back Zelenskyy (whose commitment to the Rule of Law is also sometime thing) to the bitter end, but Israeli Jews should repudiate Netanyahu in favor of someone who will advocate policies that will allow Hamas to get a second wind to launch a rocket at their house.

So, yes, he's unseemly in a number of ways.  But most of the things I can say negatively about Netanyahu, I can say about Zenenskyy.  So I'm neutral on Netanyahu; if he's the choice of Israeli voters, I'm OK with that.  I can understand the feelings of Israelis.  The history of modern Israel is a history of victory on the battlefield, only to be undermined in negotiations.  Netanyahu understands this, and I can sympathize with Israeli voters appreciating that.

I have not voted in this poll, nor will I.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I hated him before it was cool.

[CumbrianLefty]

I have not voted in this poll, nor will I.

All your previous verbiage ignores the reality that Netanyahu only really "cares" about himself.

Had that not been the case, he would never have neglected security in the Gaza area like he did - in order to boost his thuggish and lawless mates in the West Bank.

(no, this is *not* a claim that he knew what was about to happen and let it go ahead anyway)

[Fuzzy Bear]

I have not voted in this poll, nor will I.

All your previous verbiage ignores the reality that Netanyahu only really "cares" about himself.

Had that not been the case, he would never have neglected security in the Gaza area like he did - in order to boost his thuggish and lawless mates in the West Bank.

(no, this is *not* a claim that he knew what was about to happen and let it go ahead anyway)

Most politicians care primarily about themselves.  Netanyahu isn't unique in that regard.

[DaleCooper]

If I was president then Israel would get no aid until Netanyahu is gone.

[KaiserDave]

If I were an Israeli Jew living in range of Hamas rockets, I'd view him as an FF.  I'm not, of course, so I can have the luxury of being critical.

Benjamin Netanyahu understands that Hamas (and, indeed, the entire Palestinian Authority) do not recognize Israel's right to exist within ANY borders.  Benjamin Netanyahu understands that as long as Hamas remains in existence; they make no bones about their desire to destroy Israel in its entirety.  I fail to understand why Ukrainians should wholeheartedly back Zelenskyy (whose commitment to the Rule of Law is also sometime thing) to the bitter end, but Israeli Jews should repudiate Netanyahu in favor of someone who will advocate policies that will allow Hamas to get a second wind to launch a rocket at their house.

So, yes, he's unseemly in a number of ways.  But most of the things I can say negatively about Netanyahu, I can say about Zenenskyy.  So I'm neutral on Netanyahu; if he's the choice of Israeli voters, I'm OK with that.  I can understand the feelings of Israelis.  The history of modern Israel is a history of victory on the battlefield, only to be undermined in negotiations.  Netanyahu understands this, and I can sympathize with Israeli voters appreciating that.

I have not voted in this poll, nor will I.

The two strongest opposition leaders in Israel are Gantz and Lapid, both of whom support equally strong military policies regarding Gaza without the corruption and alliance with violent ethnic ultranationalists. Unless of course you mean that Atlas posters would like to see Netanyahu replaced with someone who would advocate radically different security policies, which, fair enough, that's exactly what I would like to see.

[All Along The Watchtower]

The history of modern Israel is a history of victory on the battlefield, only to be undermined in negotiations.

Wow, the Israeli government must be pretty pathetic if it can’t translate battlefield victories into diplomatic wins. Not good, folks!

[Fuzzy Bear]

If I were an Israeli Jew living in range of Hamas rockets, I'd view him as an FF.  I'm not, of course, so I can have the luxury of being critical.

Benjamin Netanyahu understands that Hamas (and, indeed, the entire Palestinian Authority) do not recognize Israel's right to exist within ANY borders.  Benjamin Netanyahu understands that as long as Hamas remains in existence; they make no bones about their desire to destroy Israel in its entirety.  I fail to understand why Ukrainians should wholeheartedly back Zelenskyy (whose commitment to the Rule of Law is also sometime thing) to the bitter end, but Israeli Jews should repudiate Netanyahu in favor of someone who will advocate policies that will allow Hamas to get a second wind to launch a rocket at their house.

So, yes, he's unseemly in a number of ways.  But most of the things I can say negatively about Netanyahu, I can say about Zenenskyy.  So I'm neutral on Netanyahu; if he's the choice of Israeli voters, I'm OK with that.  I can understand the feelings of Israelis.  The history of modern Israel is a history of victory on the battlefield, only to be undermined in negotiations.  Netanyahu understands this, and I can sympathize with Israeli voters appreciating that.

I have not voted in this poll, nor will I.

The two strongest opposition leaders in Israel are Gantz and Lapid, both of whom support equally strong military policies regarding Gaza without the corruption and alliance with violent ethnic ultranationalists. Unless of course you mean that Atlas posters would like to see Netanyahu replaced with someone who would advocate radically different security policies, which, fair enough, that's exactly what I would like to see.

I suppose the Israeli voters are in a situation comparable to 1972 for Atlas Democrats.  Those who didn't like Nixon had their choices.  They could choose Henry Jackson, who would maintain our military and a Cold War posture, or they could choose George McGovern, who would cut our fleet of ships from 16 carriers to 6 and reduce our number of troops significantly.  Israeli voters could choose their current version of Henry Jackson.  Many Atlas Leftists would saddle them with someone who advocated radically different security policies, far more different than the difference between Nixon and McGovern.  Some of McGovern's supporters honestly wanted America to lose the Vietnam War.  Many Atlas Democrats who oppose Netanyahu simply don't think that Israel has a right to exist.  

McGovern was a flawed candidate; he was a candidate I liked at the time and would have voted for, but only because I was (a) 15, (b) didn't want the Vietnam War to last another 4 years, and (c) advocated a LOT of defense cuts that seemed to me, as a 15 year old, as an act of punting away an advantage.  Still, he was a Democrat, and the Democrats were "The Party of The People".  In hindsight, however, it was Peace Through Strength that won the Cold War, and the job of the US Military is to DETER War, even moreso than it is to prosecute our wars.  Many Atlas Leftists here don't want Netanyahu because they don't want Israel to deter Hamas; they want to embolden Hamas.

Netanyahu is Israel's version of the 1964 Barry Goldwater, who asked "Why not Victory?" regarding the Cold War.  Yes, he's unsavory in a number of ways, but Israel was attacked by Hamas, which is likely a proxy for Iran.  In situations such as that, nations want leaders who are fixated on victory.  If one wants to question Netanyahu's alliance with unsavory ultranationalists, that's fair enough, but let's not forget that we defeated Hitler through an alliance with Josef Stalin.  

[Fuzzy Bear]

The history of modern Israel is a history of victory on the battlefield, only to be undermined in negotiations.

Wow, the Israeli government must be pretty pathetic if it can’t translate battlefield victories into diplomatic wins. Not good, folks!

It has been Western politicians (particularly the US) that have pressured Israel to capitulate, to make concessions.  Now Administrations of both parties have forced Israel to make concessions, as we do have interests in building and maintaining ties with many Arab nations.  And we should conduct our foreign policy in our interest.  But Israel has the right to defend itself.  And by defending itself, I mean rendering ongoing enemies incapable from ever rising up and attacking them again.

I don't wish to see civilian casualties in Gaza, but civilian casualties in ISRAEL will not stop until Hamas is totally crushed.  Netanyahu gets that; Hamas has no intention of stopping their rocket launches.  A portion of the people here who are anti-Netanyahu are, in fact, anti-Israel, period.  They are part of the "From the River to the Sea" crowd.  I will not fault the citizenry of Israel for electing someone like Netanyahu in such a time of war.