VOA常速英语:内塔尼亚胡——一以色列任期最长的总理

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has been around for a long time, more than 13 and a half years, a significant force in the political life of a young country. According to the Israel Democracy Institute Yohanan Plesner, any young Israelis that are now going to vote for the first time in this elections do not know any other reality in there as long as they have their consciousness. A reality that Netanyahu was not Prime Minister, so he’s been around for many years and in many ways shaping the consciousness and in political discourse of Israelis. The conservative Netanyahu was first elected in 1996 after a wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks. He has outlasted many US presidents including Clinton and Obama with whom he had a strained relationships. He has outlasted many US presidents including Clinton and Obama with whom he had a strained relationships.

Netanyahu is especially close to President Trump, and he has taken credit for Trump’s decisions to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem and recognizes Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Netanyahu is facing a wave of criminal corruption allegations that could eventually force him to resign. Analysts see Netanyahu imitating Trump in some ways, like claiming he is a victim of the fake news media. Well, the patterns that characterizes Israel’s politics, unfortunately subside or represent broader trends that we’re seeing throughout the world, including in the U.S. politics that are becoming more vicious, more divisive, less substantive, less pragmatic. Netanyahu was an experienced politician that in in many ways imported American-style politics into Israel. On the streets of Jerusalem, opinions are divided about the man. Everyone calls by his nickname BB. He’s a good politician. There are people who know how to sell ice to Eskimos. He’s one of them. He knows exactly what people want to hear. Security, I would say that he is more cautious taking tough actions whether it’s a war or operations, and so I mean you probably speak more tough than he actually doing. I think that Netanyahu is so popular because there are frankly a lot of people who have a lot of fear and I think he plays on that fear. Israel’s head back to the polls again in September, and Netanyahu is confident he’ll continue and extend his record as the country’s longest-serving leader.
Linda Gradstein VOA news Jerusalem.