Daily Times

Seeking re-election under a cloud of criminal investigations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks to be channeling his inner Donald Trump in an angry campaign against perceived domestic enemies.

Drawing clear inspiration from Trump, Netanyahu’s Likud party has plastered huge billboards of the two leaders together and launched a Trump-like weekly webcast to counter what it calls the “fake news” industry.

The campaign reflects Trump’s popularity in Israel, one of the few countries where an alliance with the bombastic American president is considered a political asset. But it also risks undermining the traditional bipartisan support for Israel among Americans. Despite his troubles at home, Trump has earned the appreciation of most Israelis by recognizing Jerusalem as their capital and moving the US Embassy there. Trump has further impressed Israelis by backing out of the international nuclear deal with Iran, re-imposing stiff sanctions on the Islamic Republic and vigorously defending Israel in international forums.

“This administration, not just Trump, has been the friendliest administration to Israel since 1948,” said Michael Oren, a deputy minister and former ambassador to Washington. “Netanyahu is just tapping into these current global trends of people living in a world of uncertainty who want strong, sometimes brutally strong, leaders.”

Netanyahu and Trump enjoy strong personal rapport. Netanyahu also seems to relish the American president’s attitude toward the Middle East, not only on Iran but also his hands-off approach to the Palestinian issue and Israeli settlement construction. After an icy eight-year relationship with Barack Obama, Netanyahu has gone out of his way to praise Trump at every turn.

The campaign reflects Trump’s popularity in Israel, one of the few countries where an alliance with the bombastic American president is considered a political asset

He also has held his tongue on Trump’s various scandals, even after a neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia, when Trump appeared to defend the actions of white supremacists. On a visit to Washington, Netanyahu even implored critics to stop questioning Trump over the supposed anti-Semitism of some of his supporters. While Trump’s isolationism, particularly his planned pullout from Syria, may not be good for Israel, his unabashed pro-Israel rhetoric has made him popular domestically, said Nahum Barnea, one of Israel’s most influential columnists.

Beyond a confluence of interests, Trump and Netanyahu seem to share a populist streak against their countries’ more liberal establishments — to the delight of their nationalist bases. Netanyahu has responded to a series of corruption investigations with Trump-like attacks on Israeli media, law-enforcement, judiciary and other “elites” he believes are bent on his removal. He is quick to deride any critic as a “leftist,” and, like Trump, has taken to social media to whip up his base.

“Netanyahu is a person who knows how to learn and imitate others and he’s been doing it in the past two-three years since Trump rose to power,” said Barnea.

Published in Daily Times, February 8^th 2019.