Once upon a time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the specter of Israel’s Arab citizens turning out to vote en masse to frighten his own right-wing base into casting their ballots. Now he’s courting those same Arab voters—who comprise 17 percent of the Israeli electorate—in a desperate bid to save his political skin. Arab Israeli political leaders were flummoxed to see the prime minister campaigning in Nazareth, the country’s biggest Arab city, and receive the endorsement of its mayor. As Netanyahu’s surprise appearance set off street riots in the city revered as Jesus’s hometown, the leader of one of the country’s Arab political parties hinted that he, too, may strike a partnership with Netanyahu.
Fresh from clinching diplomatic alliances with two Gulf Arab countries and a pair of North African nations, the 71-year-old political sorcerer is trying to hang on to his job—which, incidentally, would give him immunity from three corruption indictments. But Netanyahu’s improbable overture to Arab voters is only one part of his chess game. As Israel’s greatest political survivor, Netanyahu is operating on a multiplicity of levels to prepare for Joe Biden’s presidency. If his rivals fail to dethrone him in Israel’s March 23 election, Netanyahu has a clear agenda: polish his legacy as peacemaker with the Arab world—Palestinians be damned—neutralize Iran, retain the support of the United States under Biden, and stay out of prison.
