Survivor

“It was 5:44 p.m., according to minutes of the meeting. At that moment, the prime minister was forced to choose between the chance of a truce and his political survival — and Netanyahu opted for survival. There was no cease-fire plan, he promised Smotrich. ‘No, no, there’s no such thing,’ he said. And as the cabinet discussion moved on, Netanyahu quietly leaned over to his security advisers and whispered what must have by then become obvious to them: ‘Don’t present the plan.'” NYT Mag (Gift Article) with a detailed look at How Netanyahu Prolonged the War in Gaza to Stay in Power. And placing his own political survival at the top of his post-Oct 7 to-do list means placing others things further down the list, like limiting unnecessary death and destruction in Gaza, negotiating the release of all the hostages, and establishing a regional peace. Meanwhile, the strategy has created more negative views of Israel around the world, and sadly, by extension, more energy for already rising tide of worldwide antisemitism. Of course, in 2025, the world doesn’t exactly have a shortage of leaders who put their own political survival above the greater good.