Netanyahu's Wise Political Strategy

One of the foremost criticisms of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s statecraft is that he has refrained from advancing a dynamic foreign policy, or what is often called a peace “initiative.” In general, the critique runs as follows: Netanyahu’s main concern is political survival, which implies keeping his coalition intact and nothing beyond. To accomplish this, he has avoided taking any initiative in “peace diplomacy” that could end Israel’s isolation on the international scene.

In this view, Netanyahu’s acceptance of the two-state solution in his June 2009 BESA Center/Bar-Ilan University speech and his declared desire for direct peace talks with the Palestinians are to be considered half-hearted reactions to demands from Washington. Netanyahu’s opponents aver that, while he may be successful in surviving politically, he is compromising the national interest.