Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Rise and Fall of Benjamin Netanyahu
The Israeli PM has lost his status as a ‘modern-day prophet,’ including among Israelis, as opinion polls now tell us, writes RAMZY BAROUD
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pictured before a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, July 25, 2024

GREAT orators in history would not have been recognised as such if their words carried no value. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is neither a great orator, nor did his speech before a US joint Congressional session on July 24 have actual worth. It was an expression of his desperation, if not defeat, on all fronts. 

This is not new. For years, Netanyahu has served the role of a social media meme. During his United Nations general assembly speech in September 2012, the Israeli leader displayed a bomb diagram to fan the flames for another Middle East war. 

His equally bizarre map of the “New Middle East,” which he also carried during another general assembly speech on September 22 2023, also invited mockery. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
US President Donald Trump speaks with the media before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Florida, March 23, 2026
Middle East / 25 March 2026
25 March 2026

RAMZY BAROUD and ROMANA RUBEO analyse how the US has consistently negotiated in bad faith to secure the element of surprise in military attack

Parachutes drop supplies into the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.
Genocide / 14 August 2025
14 August 2025

Gaza’s collective sumud has proven more powerful than one of the world’s best-equipped militaries, but the change in international attitudes isn’t happening fast enough to save a starving population from Western-backed genocide, argues RAMZY BAROUD

Israel flag
Israel / 21 May 2025
21 May 2025

The intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza are an attempt by Netanyahu to project strength amid perceived political vulnerability, argues RAMZY BAROUD

Israeli troops move with APC, armored personnel carrier, near the border with Gaza, in southern Israel, May 8, 2025
Features / 15 May 2025
15 May 2025

RAMZY BAROUD on how Israel’s narrative collides with military failure