Most of us seek exemplary behavior from "perfect" national leaders. But perfect leaders have never existed.
Some of America's greatest leaders had blemished personal records – for example, Lyndon Johnson's coarseness and the womanizing of John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton. The big difference today is the domination of social media and the obsession of the print media to expose the most intimate aspects of leaders' personal lives.
Did the British media excoriate Churchill for consuming vast quantities of brandy and cigars provided at government expense? It would have been inconceivable.
Nor were all our Israeli leaders paragons of virtue.
David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding leader, was intolerant and bloody-minded about political opponents. His wife Paula was a kleptomaniac. The media never exposed this.
Moshe Dayan was a womanizer and notoriously "appropriated" antiquities for his private collection. Yitzhak Rabin resigned over an illegal bank account his wife held in the U.S. Shimon Peres in his heyday was known as a playboy. Ariel Sharon was allegedly engaged in major financial irregularities.
None of these leaders was subjected to the demonization applied to the Netanyahu family.
The defamation campaign against Netanyahu by Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth, backed by the TV stations, is unprecedented. Apparently, any means to demonize him are justified, including intruding into his children's private lives.
The Netanyahus stand accused of consuming expensive ice cream, illegally profiting from the return of refundable bottles, and accepting cigars and champagne from two wealthy admirers. The latest is the obsessive coverage of the crude babbling of Netanyahu's eldest son, Yair, taped by his driver two years ago outside a nightclub. It certainly put Yair in an odious position, especially as a security guard accompanied him. But since when are the drunken ravings of a young man – two years after the event – the basis for three days of front-page headlines?
Haaretz's obsessive coverage buried more serious news concerning the threat from Iran, terrorism and other important national issues.
In a sense, the same applies to the United States, where the liberal media has institutionalized an unprecedented campaign to discredit President Donald Trump.
Of course, Trump, like Netanyahu, is from perfect. He frequently shoots from the hip and his utterances can be incredibly coarse and vulgar, such as his recent reference to underdeveloped countries as "shitholes." He despises political correctness and regularly excoriates "fake news."
But his instincts and long-term strategies seem to be on target, unlike those of former President Barack Obama, who expressed himself in a highly sophisticated and cultured manner but implemented disastrous policies.
Since Trump was elected president, America has experienced an unprecedented economic boom; he has warned Iran and North Korea that their misbehavior will have real consequences; and he has allied himself with the Sunni moderates against Iranian hegemony.
His representative to the U.N., Nikki Haley, is a breath of fresh air as she passionately challenges that organization's bias and double standards. The U.S. has already resigned from UNESCO because of its myopic attitude toward Israel and has drastically reduced U.S. funding for the U.N. budget.
Trump's attitude toward Israel has, until now, been exemplary. No other American president has been so honest with the Palestinians. He publicly recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital despite threats of violence and pressure from Palestinians and other countries.
Moreover, he announced that if the Palestinian leaders refuse to negotiate with Israel and continue to generously reward terrorists and their families, the U.S. will cease acting as their banker.
Though far from being the perfect leader, Trump is possibly the most supportive American president Israel has ever encountered.
The same applies to Netanyahu. His hedonistic inclinations are irritating and his personal political relationships are far from perfect. But this doesn't warrant the incessant flow of abuse from his adversaries and the media.
They conveniently ignore his achievements. Israel has developed one of the most stable economies in the world. The Israel Defense Forces has never been as well-equipped. Our high-tech, biomedical and other innovations are leaders in many fields, our religious and cultural institutions continue thriving and Israelis rank among the world's happiest people.
In addition to the re-establishment of our close relationship with the U.S., Netanyahu has established good relations with India, Russia, China, South East Asia and Latin America, not to mention our new covert relationship with the Saudis and Gulf states.
We have today two national leaders who have human weaknesses and faults. But any suggestion of unseating Trump or Netanyahu would be utterly foolish.
We must look at leaders not through the prism of their private lives and personal peccadilloes but in terms of their policies and achievements, compared to the qualities of their probable immediate successors.
Jews concerned with the future of the Jewish state should hope that the tenures of both Trump and Netanyahu are extended to enable them to consolidate what they have achieved.
We should also pray that the Almighty leads them both in the right direction.
