The apparent return of Benjamin Netanyahu to power in Israel is a gut punch to people concerned about the state of democracy and the rule of law in the world. Netanyahu has been a key pillar in the global movement of illiberal leaders who have taken control and altered the rules of the democratic game — including in Turkey, Hungary and the United States in the Trump era.
During his 12 years in power from 2009 to 2021, Netanyahu lashed out at the media and political enemies, consistently attacked the Israeli judiciary (while under indictment and on trial), and promoted a version of majoritarianism intended to enshrine Jewish supremacy as a constitutional principle.
And now, in his new term as prime minister, he will sit in a government with Itamar Ben-Gvir, the avowed disciple of the hate-filled racist Meir Kahane, and Bezalel Smotrich, a rabidly anti-LGBTQ rabble-rouser. The fact that Netanyahu, together with these allies, will form a government with as many as 65 seats in the Knesset represents not an aberration but the clear will of the people.
