According to a recent Israel Hayom poll, almost two-thirds of Israelis want an election as soon as possible. Not surprisingly, the overwhelming majority of those polled who want an early vote are in the anti-Netanyahu camp. It honestly disgusts me how, even in wartime, many of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents can't put aside their hatred of him.
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This is not a time for new elections or a change in leadership. This is a time for Israelis to put aside their differences and unite behind our leader for the good of the country. You may not like Bibi, but he is the best person to lead Israel during this difficult time. No one else among Israel's politicians today has the experience and intelligence necessary to guide the Jewish state through the current conflict.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is perhaps the best leader Israel ever had. Under his leadership, Israel has become wealthier and stronger than ever before. Case in point: the emergence of Israel as a "Startup Nation". Bibi didn't create Startup Nation, but he did create the conditions that allowed Startup Nation to be born. He did this by convincing the world's technology giants to invest hundreds of billions in R&D centers to the point where Israel could boast the world's largest technological sector outside of Silicon Valley.
Netanyahu laid the groundwork for Israel's long-term economic prosperity by liberalizing the country's economic policies and opening the Israeli market to greater competition. He also turned Israel from a resource-poor country into an energy exporter by negotiating deals to explore and exploit natural gas deposits off the coast. Last year, the government estimated that Israel's revenues from natural gas and other natural resource royalties would total $526 million.
Netanyahu's record on the diplomatic front is even more impressive. He improved diplomatic relations with major powers like Russia, China and India. His rapport with Russian President Vladimir Putin in particular is credited with allowing Israel a relatively free hand to take military actions in Syria aimed at neutralizing the threat of Iran and its proxies.
Bibi's most notable diplomatic achievement, however, is his success in establishing diplomatic relations with four Arab states—the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. No other Israeli prime minister can boast a better record of peacemaking than Netanyahu. And I have no doubt that if not for Hamas's attack on October 7th, Netanyahu would have, in a short time, established diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
Bibi has also spent many years trying to warn the international community of the danger posed by Iran, including its sponsorship of terrorism and its drive to acquire nuclear weapons. His efforts very much resemble those of Winston Churchill, who tried to warn the world about the danger posed by Nazi Germany. In fact, I would say that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the Winston Churchill of our time. Tragically, much of the world has ignored his warnings in the same way many ignored Churchill's warnings before World War II.
I still fondly remember how Bibi defied President Barack Obama in 2015 and appeared before the US Congress to denounce the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal that was intended to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, but which Bibi said would instead "pave Iran's path to the bomb."
I know that many Israelis fault Prime Minister Netanyahu for allowing the October 7 massacre to take place. But in fact, Bibi tried to prevent something like the October 7th massacre from happening. This is why he opposed the Oslo Accords and the 2005 Disengagement from the Gaza Strip. If only Israelis had listened to Bibi, the estimated 1,200 people murdered in cold blood by Hamas on October 7th might still be alive and there would be no Israeli hostages held by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.
Thankfully, Prime Minister Netanyahu now has the opportunity to clean up the mess made by previous Israeli leaders, particularly those on the left who initiated the disastrous Oslo peace process in the first place. And I think that if Bibi is allowed to conduct this war as he sees fit, he will lead Israel to a resounding victory.
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