It is true that under the horrific circumstances of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack and atrocities by Hamas, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overcame the initial shock and defeat to mobilize the Israel Defense Forces to immense effect.
It is true that under Netanyahu’s leadership the IDF destroyed Hamas’ battalions over the coming months.
It is true that in order to destroy Hamas’ last battalion in southern Gaza in spring, 2024, Netanyahu had to defy President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
It is true that when Biden and Harris said Israel could not safely relocate the civilian population in southern Gaza, Netanyahu insisted Israel could, and it did.
It is true that when Washington and countless commentators said Israel could never secure the release of hostages other than by ending its war against Hamas, Netanyahu secured the release of 105 hostages in November, 2023, without ending its war against Hamas.
It is true that when President Biden told Netanyahu not to attack Hezbollah, Netanyahu went ahead and, in unexpected and stunning fashion, decapitated Hezbollah’s leadership one by one in the fall of 2024.
It is true that when the UN, the US and skeptics around the world said that Israel would never succeed in clearing southern Lebanon of Hezbollah, and would only destabilize Lebanon by decimating Hezbollah, Netanyahu’s continued attacks on Hezbollah are slowly enabling Lebanon to reestablish its authority not only in southern Lebanon but throughout the country.
It is true that military and political leaders around the world said that Israel could never eliminate Hamas’ leadership. Israel, under Netanyahu, has eliminated almost all of Hamas’ political and military leadership in Gaza and abroad.
It is true that Netanyahu masterfully negotiated with the Biden administration to attack and destroy almost all of Iran’s air defenses.
It is true that Netanyahu’s policies — by negotiation, by military rescue, and by pressure — have succeeded in liberating 148 of the estimated 252 hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023 and in securing 45 murdered hostages. (The US has liberated one. Germany, the UK, France and others have liberated none.)
It is true that when the International Criminal Court accused Netanyahu and former Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of genocide, Netanyahu decided to fight the charge in the court rather than ignore it on the grounds that Israel has never accepted the authority of the court; and has succeeded in delaying a trial for about a year-and-a-half now.
It is true that in the face of untrue attacks on the morality of the IDF’s tactics, Netanyahu has steadfastly insisted on stating the truth both about Hamas and about the IDF’s methods, which usually include advance warnings of attacks — a method hardly ever used by other armies at war.
It is true that on the issue of humanitarian aid in Gaza, Netanyahu is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. If he takes over the distribution of aid and thus prevents Hamas from stealing some and selling some, he is damned for violating “principles of neutrality and impartiality”; but if he steps back and lets the UN or other organizations distribute the aid, he is damned for not ensuring that the aid actually reaches ordinary Gazans.
It is true that if Israel stops fighting now, Hamas will most likely remain in power in Gaza and set about trying to plan more attacks and massacres on the pattern of Oct. 7, 2023.
Taken all around, it is true that under the pressures of war and of atrocities — of a direct challenge to Israel’s existence by a fanatical enemy that declares the death of civilians in Gaza “necessary sacrifices” — Netanyahu has stood firm.
It is true that when a leader on Israel’s political left says that Israel is killing babies in Gaza as a hobby, Netanyahu is right to call him a spokesman for Hamas and a threat to Israel internally and abroad.
All this is true.
All this is to Netanyahu’s credit. All this is of enormous significance for him, for the IDF, for Israel and for the Jewish people worldwide.
It is also true that all this is not the whole picture, especially now, nearly 20 months after Oct. 7, 2023.
It is true that Netanyahu seems to be prolonging the war rather than seeking victory, given that after complaining about being hamstrung by President Biden for nine months, Netanyahu took no major step to actualize his goal and destroy Hamas right after Trump was elected.
It is true that Netanyahu has never accepted responsibility for the failures of Oct. 7. They were more than one person’s failures, to be sure; but as the leader of the country, as the person in charge, as the boss of the subordinates who messed up, Netanyahu’s failure to accept responsibility has led him to reject the formation of an official commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 disaster.
It is true that Netanyahu accepts the necessity of a commission of inquiry in principle, but always finds a reason to delay it.
It is true that Netanyahu’s refusal to form a commission of inquiry has led to an erosion in trust in Netanyahu, and, as Netanyahu himself has stressed when firing top military and political leaders, if there is deficient trust amongst the leadership, the country and the war cannot succeed.
It is true that it is not only Netanyahu’s failure to appoint a commission of inquiry that has led to an erosion of trust. It is something more. Something critical. Something contrary to the Israeli tactical approach over the decades. This is Netanyahu’s refusal to acknowledge the impossibility of total victory, the impossibility of forcing the hand of the Messiah, so to speak.
It is true that if Israel stops fighting now, and thereby secures the release of the hostages and leaves Hamas in power, this falls short of Israel’s declared goals of the war.
It is also true — and we hope we are wrong —that what Netanyahu seeks is beyond his, beyond Israel’s, beyond anyone’s ability: the messianic eradication of all anti-Israel anti-Semitic evil. False messiahs have led to dramatic defeats for the Jewish spirit and the Jewish people.
It is true that Netanyahu’s policies now loom as messianic. By insisting on more war in Gaza until Hamas is utterly eradicated, by not being satisfied with having destroyed Hamas as a fighting force, Netanyahu now endangers Israeli forces, isolates Israel dangerously and diverts Israel’s attention and political capital with the Trump administration from the enemy that now is far more dangerous to Israel than the eviscerated Hamas. That enemy is Iran.
It is true that Netanyahu should stop the war in exchange for all hostages — just as, to cite but one of many examples in Israel’s history, Israel stopped the war against Egypt’s Third Army during the YomKippur War of 1973 in exchange for a separation-of-forces agreement that, in that instance, eventuated in Israel’s peace pact with its most dangerous enemy then, Egypt.
It is true that Israel’s cessation of the war now:
• will ensure a continued, uninterrupted flow of weaponry from the US to Israel;
• will begin the necessary rebuilding of bipartisan support for Israel in the US.
• will enable some healing within what has become a badly divided, distrustful Israeli society.
• will allow Israel to sharpen the focus of its lobbying of the Trump administration on Iran.
It is true that if Netanyahu would resign as prime minister (which, under the Israeli system, would not necessitate new elections), a successor from within his party would inherently reduce the personal animosity that Netanyahu has engendered within Israeli society and abroad — provided that Netanyahu’s political enemies also step up and set aside their multi-year prosecution of Netanyahu in favor of a plea deal to allow new leadership to emerge. It is true that the leadership crisis in Israel is not on Netanyahu alone, and that all sides need to think bigger to enable a better path forward for Israel. Wartime demands no less.
© IJN 2025
