Those banking on a loss for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in last week’s elections were sorely mistaken. Although neither his bloc nor the opposition has a straightforward path to forming the next government, it is astonishing that Netanyahu’s political fortunes endure at all.
Consider the headwinds he faced in this election. On Oct. 7, 2023, Israel suffered the darkest day in its 75-year-history. Netanyahu, who led the government that failed to prevent these terrorist massacres, was thought to be a goner politically. Polling conducted after Oct. 7 found that the opposition would wallop Netanyahu and his Likud party. It looked like the Israeli people were going to punish Netanyahu and the government for the catastrophe of Oct. 7. How could any politician, even one as savvy as Bibi, overcome these odds?
