The Netanyahu Years

May 1, 2017
Tel Aviv–based journalist Caspit writes an informed, balanced political biography of the controversial fourth-term Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Born in Israel and raised in the U.S., Netanyahu possesses political skills that often prove effective in both nations. Caspit traces Netanyahu’s decades-long ties to the U.S. Republican Party, starting with his affinity for neoconservatism and big money donors when he was Israel’s United Nations ambassador in the 1980s. Today casino magnate and Republican Party donor Sheldon Adelson, Netanyahu’s U.S. patron, pulls strings for him in what the author depicts as a disturbingly backhanded relationship. Caspit describes outright hostility between Netanyahu and U.S. leaders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, heightened by disagreements over Iran’s nuclear program, which led to Netanyahu’s memorable, grandstanding 2015 visit to Congress. By Caspit’s lights, Netanyahu’s messianic self-conception, one that his family and inner circle encourage, constitutes a defining feature of his character, driving his “need to hold on to power at any cost.” As captured in Cummings’s remarkably fluid translation, Caspit’s detailed, clear account covers Israel’s domestic-policy disputes and Netanyahu’s impact as a world leader. It also provides a vital guide to understanding Israel’s influence on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Agent: Lynne Rabinoff, Lynne Rabinoff Associates.