Benjamin Netanyahu went to Cheltenham High School outside Philadelphia, got an MBA at MIT, and a job at Boston Consulting Group, where he made friends with Mitt Romney. The ambitious young Israeli is said to have considered staying in America, obtaining citizenship, and changing his name to Ben Natan.
He returned instead to Israel to lead an anti-terrorism group and go into politics.
Had he remained in the United States it is quite likely he’d have followed a political path as well and run for office, but not president since he wasn’t born here. That hasn’t stopped him from dabbling in presidential politics for many years, mainly Republican. It was most notable in 2012 when he boosted his old colleague, Romney, motivated as much by friendship as antagonism toward Barack Obama.
In the three presidential elections since then, Netanyahu has been backing Donald Trump. They may not share the collegiality of Bibi and Mitt, but rather are driven by ruthlessness, ambition, and ego.
There are distinct differences between Trump and Netanyahu. The disgraced former president describes himself as “a really smart person,” but isn’t one; the Israeli prime minister is. One of Bibi’s MIT professors called him “very bright” and said, “he did superbly.” At Wharton, Prog. Willam T. Kelly said, “Donald Trump was the dumbest goddam student I ever had.”
The Israeli leader also speaks better English, has a more sophisticated vocabulary, and actually wrote the books that list him as the author. Bibi has military, diplomatic, and governing experience; Trump is a draft dodger with none of that.
Reasons to vote against Trump
If Bibi could vote in next month’s presidential election, he’d vote for Trump, but you shouldn’t. Here are some reasons:
Netanyahu, the self-styled defender of world Jewry who is so quick to see antisemitism behind all criticism of Israel, seems unfazed by Trump’s history of antisemitism, notably accusations of dual loyalty and threats to hold Jews responsible if he loses the election. Retribution has been a theme of Trump’s campaign, and don’t expect a Jewish dispensation.
Conservative columnist Mona Charen suggested Trump’s threat was intended to “frighten Jewish voters” to fear that “if they failed to support him, he might encourage his disappointed and enraged followers to direct their fury at the nearest Jew.”
Both men are secular yet portray themselves as pious while questioning the faith of their opposition. Trump told a conservative Christian group that Democrats are “against religion.” Bibi notoriously whispered in the ear of an old rabbi that the Left had “forgotten what it is to be Jews.”
Trust is essential for national leaders. Two of Netanyahu’s predecessors from opposite ends of the political spectrum, Yitzhak Shamir of Likud and Labor’s Shimon Peres, agreed on one thing. Netanyahu is not “trustworthy” (Shamir), and his “only consideration” is holding on to power (Peres).
How can either man swear to uphold the law when one, Trump, has a whole slew of impeachments, convictions, indictments, suits, and verdicts on his rap sheet, and the other is currently on trial for fraud, breach of trust, and bribery?
They also share a desire to stay out of prison, and holding office seems to be their escape route. Trump intends to weaponize the Justice Department, something he falsely accuses President Joe Biden of doing, in pursuit of his enemies, critics, and anyone else who displeases him. If president, he will likely have all federal charges dropped. Bibi is pushing legislation to end his country’s independent judiciary and drop his charges.
Another common thread is their admiration of autocrats and aspirations to join their ranks. Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called Trump a “fascist to the core.”
Trump is an admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin who, along with Netanyahu, wants the Republican to return to the White House. Each man is confident that Trump wouldn’t try to stop the wars they’re waging or block their plans to seize their respective neighbors’ land.
While Biden is urging Netanyahu not to target Iran’s nuclear facilities in retaliation for Tehran’s recent missile attacks on Israel, Trump is urging him to “hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later.”
Mega-donor Miriam Adelson is putting about $100 million into Trump’s campaign and is demanding he support Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories, according to media accounts. Her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, reportedly tied his nine-figure donations to Trump to relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing the annexation of the Golan Heights, which Trump did. Bibi had a settlement in the Golan Heights named Ramat Trump.
Trump views the war in Gaza as a PR nightmare, not a humanitarian and security problem, as Biden does. Netanyahu wants a Hamas surrender, not just a ceasefire-for-hostages deal. He and Trump know that prolonging the conflict would deny Biden and Harris a pre-election victory.
Biden wants to focus on day-after issues, like resuscitating peace negotiations that would lead to Palestinian statehood, something Netanyahu adamantly opposes. Trump is indifferent toward it, at best. His son-in-law and former top Mideast adviser, Jared Kushner, called that “a super-bad idea.”
Settlements are another friction point. Netanyahu resented Biden’s decision to reinstate longtime American opposition to West Bank settlement expansion, which Trump lifted shortly before the 2020 election. Most countries consider settlements to be obstacles to peace, which is the intention of Netanyahu and most supporters.
After a year of intense bombing and war, Gaza is in ruins, but Kushner, a real estate developer bankrolled by the Saudis, sees an opportunity. He wants to “move the people out and then clean it up” to make way for the development of “very valuable” “waterfront property.” Trump has long wanted a hotel in Israel.
Trump and Netanyahu are polarizing figures who seem more adept at opening new wounds than healing old ones.
Christian Science Monitor writer Dina Kraft described Israel as a nation “deeply divided politically, and angry at and distrustful of their government.” She could also be describing the United States.
The Netanyahu-Trump alliance is a “marriage made in hell” between “messianic” leaders who believe their “interests and views both represent and supersede those of the people [they] would lead,” David Rothkopf wrote in Haaretz.
Each partner in that marriage is known for his loyalty only to himself, quick to take credit but never responsibility. Just ask their former wives, people who served under them, business associates, and half the voting public. Bear that in mind when voting.
The writer is a Washington-based journalist, consultant, lobbyist, and the former American Israel Public Affairs Committee legislative director.