Who hates me? And you?

I posed two questions to AI.

1 – Who is the most hated Israeli?

There isn’t a definitive answer, as “most hated” is subjective and varies greatly depending on perspective. However, public discourse and global polling frequently point to two figures: Benjamin Netanyahu and Itamar Ben-Gvir.

• Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister): Often described as the most reviled and despised political leader in the world today. One global survey found that 61% of people across 58 countries hold a negative view of him. He has also been labeled the “worst prime minister” in Israel’s history by some critics.
• Itamar Ben-Gvir (National Security Minister): Frequently called one of the most controversial and extreme figures in Israeli politics. He has sparked global outrage for various actions and has a criminal record that includes convictions for racism and supporting a terrorist organization.

It is also important to note that negative sentiment is often directed at the Israeli government or the country itself rather than at specific individuals.

2 – Why is Netanyahu so hated?

Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the most hated political leaders today due to a toxic combination of personal legal scandals, polarizing domestic policies, and highly controversial wartime leadership that has isolated Israel internationally.

Here is a breakdown of the key reasons:

1. Corruption and Legal Troubles

Netanyahu is on trial for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate cases (Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000).

• Self-Serving Motive: Many critics argue his wartime decisions are driven by a desire to stay in power and avoid prison. One analyst noted that “peace is politically dangerous” for him because it would “set in motion the wheels of accountability”.
• Erosion of Trust: The prolonged trial has deeply damaged public trust in Israel’s political system.

2. Controversial Domestic Policies

• Judicial Overhaul: His push to weaken the Supreme Court sparked massive protests, with critics viewing it as an authoritarian power grab.
• Social Division: His reliance on ultra-Orthodox parties has created a “two-tiered system” where some citizens are exempt from military service while others bear the burden.

3. The October 7th Failure and War Strategy

• Refusal to Accept Blame: He has refused to take responsibility for the intelligence and military failures despite it happening on his watch.
• “War for Survival”: Critics accuse him of prolonging conflicts for political gain. His strategy is seen as having failed to achieve its aims, with Hamas still active and Iran returning to negotiations.

4. International Isolation

• Damaged Alliances: His leadership has isolated Israel, with global disapproval of Israel reaching record levels. He has been described as the “face of evil” by some international observers.
• Strained US Ties: His once-close relationship with Donald Trump has soured dramatically, with Trump publicly criticizing him.
• War Crimes Allegations: His government has been accused of committing war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon, and an ICC arrest warrant hangs over his head.

In short, Netanyahu is hated for being seen by many as a corrupt leader who exploits national security for personal survival, while his polarizing policies have divided his own country and isolated it from the world.

The above were responses from AI.

Overall, it’s easy to see that Netanyahu is globally hated and it is easy to see why? He, of course chalks it up publicly as antisemitism, which it is not. It is the same reason that he has pursued, somewhat successfully, the false assertion that being anti-Israel is equal to antisemitism. He has extended that false concept to the extreme, stating that being against the Israeli government is being against Israel and antisemitic.

Netanyahu’s tactics and strategy for this was his relentless political positioning of ‘us and them’. Netanyahu is the Divider-in-Chief and as such, anyone who does not support him and his government’s policies and actions is an enemy. In his view, if they are not Israeli, they are antisemites. If they are Israelis, they are enemies of the people. After all, it would be beyond the pale to call Israelis antisemites (at least till now).

Due to Netanyahu’s almost two decades in power and his perfect English, he has succeeded in presenting himself as the sole representative of Israel and the Israeli people. Outside of Israel, most people as well as their governments are not able to distinguish that a large enough majority of people do not support the policies, actions, and words of Netanyahu and his fascist government. Therefore, the hatred and disdain for Netanyahu is translated to hatred and disdain for Israel and every Israeli.

It is true that there was growing disdain and reduction of support for Israel in many places in the world prior to October 7 and it, too is directly attributable to the actions of the Netanyahu government. But it hadn’t reached the epidemic proportions that we are seeing today. This is a direct reaction to a number of actions of the Netanyahu government: the almost complete destruction and devastation we wrought upon Gaza and the tens of thousands of non-combatant Gazans killed (women, children, elderly, infirm), the complete disregard of the governments and world leaders who were friendly to Israel, the full court offensive of Netanyahu’s kissing the ring of Donald Trump exclusively, and the almost complete lack of Israeli public diplomacy needed to overcome the massive organized and well-funded public diplomacy of lies by Hamas and their supporters.

Netanyahu spent his career building himself up to be the public face of Israel and he attempted and pretended to be the public face of the Jewish people. He even had the audacity to present himself as the savior of the Jewish people.

Ever since the establishment of Israel, the diaspora world Jewish community overwhelmingly supported the State of Israel publicly, financially and diplomatically. Except for fringe groups such as Netorei Karta, dissent in the diaspora Jewish communities towards Israel and its actions almost didn’t exist, at least, publicly. With this historical support, who could ever have imagined the growing numbers of American synagogues defining themselves as “Anti-Zionist” and the growing numbers of young Jews distancing themselves from Israel in any way they can?

Netanyahu, through his success as being seen as the sole representative of Israel and the Israeli people had successfully brought upon Israel, the Israeli people and world Jewry greater hate, substantial decline in the support of the country and a level of antisemitism not seen since the Holocaust.

Yes, Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel during the worst attack on Israel, bears direct responsibility for bringing us to October 7 and for causing more damage to Israel and the Jewish people than almost any enemy we have had through time. Binyamin Netanyahu (aka Benjamin Nitai) is the most dangerous person in Israel today and would have done us all a huge favor if he stayed in America to be a businessman as he planned!

I titled this post “Who hates me? And You?” Thanks to Benjamin Netanyahu, the answer is ‘most of the world’. It has become a daily news item that somewhere in the world, Jews and Israelis are being attacked just for being Jews and Israelis. It is happening in the most unlikely of places such as Japan and Thailand where things like this were absolutely unheard of before. The hatred of us has become so pervasive that it reaches every corner of the earth. I am with my family in the US now. Every time we are asked where we are from, my family hesitates a response. On many occasions, I too hesitate and this is a very new thing for me. Growing up in a suburban area of America that was just 3% Jewish, I experienced quite a bit of antisemitism and with each encounter, I came back swinging, wearing my Magen David out of my shirt, wearing Young Judaea T-shirts emblazoned with Hebrew and displaying my Judaism for all to see. At the time, the worst thing that happened to me was a fist fight or two. When some kids would throw pennies at me, I told them that they should throw quarters instead. I did not back down. Today, however, the dangers are far greater and the hate is much scarier.

This hate is directly attributable to Netanyahu. He is the gift that keeps on giving, no matter how much we want him to stop.