Has Netanyahu Completely Lost His Bearings? Maybe. But Maybe It's Intentional
Judging by its political behavioral patterns, Israel is currently governed by a prime minister afflicted with acute Masada syndrome. Like in 73 C.E., he is trying to instill in Israelis the sense that we are a persecuted righteous few, surrounded by a hostile and hateful world. We are under a cruel siege and facing the threat of annihilation, with nothing to lose, and with a deep conviction that this is an existential, be-all or end-all war.
None of that was true in the year 73. Nor is it remotely true in 2024.
At the same time, I cannot pretend to dispute the sentiment nor dismiss the Zeitgeist. To paraphrase an old _expression_, the prime minister of the first sovereign Jewish state in 2,000 years thinks Israel in on the verge of the abyss but is determined to move forward.
I am not a psychiatrist, nor a clinical psychologist. I am not clairvoyant or psychic, nor am I anywhere near the vicinity of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to judge and make scientific determinations and diagnoses.
As a result, I am not professionally qualified or equipped to make any clinical observations. But I have read dozens of psycho-political profiles, including two about Mr. Netanyahu. I am also experienced and versed – though not always correct – in analyzing erratic and alarming political behavior in both ancient and contemporary history.
A protester wearing a Benjamin Netanyahu mask at a protest in Tel Aviv in March.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
With that caveat and those qualifications, I submit to you as food for thought the following: If there was such a term, Israel is currently afflicted by political "multisystem inflammatory syndrome." The country is currently being led – and it is dubious whether "led" is the right term here – by a desperate man under severe political duress and cross-pressures who seems to be suffering four intertwining syndromes. First is Louis XIV syndrome. Second, Shabbetai Zvi syndrome. Third comes Jerusalem syndrome, and fourth is Stockholm syndrome.
The Louis XIV syndrome has characterized Mr. Netanyahu for a long time. An acute case of "l'état, c'est moi" ("the state, it is I"). King Louis XIV of France supposedly said this to the French Parliament in 1655, trying to assert royal supremacy over Parliament. In that context, he meant to say: "I am the state in that I embody the state." But in the context of Louis XIV's demeanor and political posture, this was narcissism in the sense that "There is no state without me."
Netanyahu has been hinting and alluding to this notion profusely, believing – or pretending to believe and impart the impression – that Israel cannot exist without him. He instigated a constitutional coup to weaken the judiciary and degrade checks and balances with one purpose in mind: transitioning Israel into an authoritarian state. That, he believes, is crucial to its survival. He has perverted history, repeatedly talking about this being "1938 all over again" as the existential condition of Israel, a danger that only he can avert.
The Shabbetai Zvi syndrome is more worrying. Zvi was a Turkish Jew, born in 1626 in Izmir. He was a mystic, a charlatan and self-proclaimed messiah. Calling him a "false messiah" would be too generous. He adopted not only "millenarianism" – the belief in the imminent coming of the messiah, a strain adopted from Christianity of the time – but also conducted all kinds of computations based on the Book of Zohar, the foundation of kabbala. He then concluded that not only would the messiah arrive in 1648, but that he himself was the messiah. Netanyahu succeeded in creating a cult that actually buys into him as being some sort of messiah, standing up to liberalism.
The Jerusalem syndrome issue has Shabbetai Zvi attributes, but psychologically is confined to the city of Jerusalem. It is a mental illness – and again, I am in no way qualified to determine this clinically or am I trying to – that is expressed by obsessive religious delusions, "messiah" pretensions and a paranoid pattern of behavior that affects an individual once he is in the divine city of Jerusalem.
Stockholm syndrome is the term used to describe situations in which a victim identifies with and develops understanding and empathy toward his captors or abusers. This corresponds tightly to the modus operandi of Mr. Netanyahu's governing coalition, where he placates and subjects himself to his extreme right-wing partners.
A protester holding a sign depicting the faces of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, left, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, during an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv earlier this month.Credit: Jack Guez/AFP
I don't think he is "hostage to the far right," as many tend to think. That's a cop-out. He had options, he appointed them, he drives them, he never disciplines them or counters their actions. In that respect, he's a willing accomplice of his political captors because they hold the key – in fact, the only key – to the survival of his Armageddon coalition.
Of course, you can dismiss this psycho-political profile and interpret Netanyahu's actions by more conventional political analytical tools: His political predicament. His legal problems facing three indictments in an ongoing corruption trial. His arrogance. His ineptness dealing with the United States or his mismanagement of the war in Gaza. Or, conversely, his profound belief that he is doing the right thing and will be proved right.
You can also cherry-pick from these syndromes and use them to explain Netanyahu's behavior in respect to the constitutional coup, relations with the United States, reluctance to present a coherent plan for postwar Gaza, and his concocted narrative that this is all about a Palestinian state, a travesty that history and providence entrusted him to prevent.
Alternatively, you can use these syndromes as points of reference when trying to understand what he's doing and why he is doing it.