“For right-wing voters, Bibi is like Jesus on the cross,” remarked Israeli TV commentator Amit Segal in an interview with Israel’s largest daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot. Segal, by the way, is a religious Jew.
As strange as this comparison may seem to Christians, Bibi is definitely seen by his followers as a victim. For them, the comparison suggests that Benjamin Netanyahu is persecuted by a leftist elite, just as Jesus was persecuted by the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. Only this time, it is the media and the judicial system that refuse to tolerate his right-wing rule, and are thus prepared to resort even to undemocratic means to remove Netanyahu from office.
For Bibi’s voters, this unrestrained opposition only bolsters his image as a Redeemer sent by God to save Israel. One local magazine suggested that many even see Netanyahu as a Messiah. A Google search for “Netanyahu + Messiah” returns a long series of articles in which rabbis and religious websites portray Netanyahu as either the Messiah of Israel, or a forerunner of...
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