Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Time Crowns Bibi ‘King of Israel’

Time magazine has crowned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the ‘king of Israel’ in its cover story this week, which profiles Netanyahu and marks his recent feat – brokering a 94-member coalition with the rival Kadima party.

In the article, Managing Editor Rick Stengel outlines Netanyahu’s recent achievements and explains why he is worthy of the title of ‘King of Israel.’

“Netanyahu is poised to become the longest-serving Israeli Prime Minister since David Ben-Gurion, the founding father of Israel. He has no national rival,” Stengel writes. “His approval rating, roughly 50%, is at an all-time high. At a moment when incumbents around the world are being shunted aside, he is triumphant. With his bullet-proof majority, he has a chance to turn himself into the historic figure he has always yearned to be. He has become, as some commentators have dubbed him, the King of Israel.”

Stengel interviewed Netanyahu at his official residence in Jerusalem, and noted that Netanyahu “would like to be a hero, but he will not be one at the expense of Israel’s security.

“He wants to be a defining figure in Israeli history and a significant player on the world stage, but he will not risk what he sees as Israel’s safety to be one,” Stengel writes. “His ambition and now his security as Prime Minister, though, may let him take that risk. Of the Palestinians, he says, ‘If they figure it out, they will never have a better partner than me. I can make it happen and make it stick.’”

For more, go to Haaretz.com

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.