BIBI UNBOWED

The Israeli prime minister's hand has been strengthened by a bogus ceasefire in Lebanon

An Iranian woman in downtown Tehran last week stands next to a billboard with portraits of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Farsi scripts that read: “The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Charges: War crimes, and crimes against humanity.” / Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Fourteen months after Israel’s greatest trauma, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing another round of pleadings on three pending corruption charges dating back years, is still the darling of the extreme religious right in Israel and is riding high in the polls, with the blood of tens of thousands in Gaza and Lebanon and a few in Iran on his soul.

He has defeated Hamas, bombed Hezbollah into a corner, and largely destroyed Iran’s capability to defend itself against future Israeli air attacks. He has assassinated enemies and ignored the rage of much of the world about Israel’s continued attacks against defenseless Gaza, all the while enjoying sustained political and military support from the Biden White House. Now he is looking forward to even greater backing from the incoming Trump administration. American bombs and dollars are still flowing into Israel, as the economy there continues its slump, with many successful high-tech firms having fled months ago from Israel’s unsettled market and constant inflation.

Netanyahu is known to have a difficult personal life with a wife who insists on interviewing his significant appointees and two grown sons, both of age to be reserve members of the Israeli Defense Forces. They have spent the past fourteen months living lives of safety and ease—one in London and the other in Miami—as their peers have been at war.