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
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.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.