A few days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that he blamed intelligence chiefs for the October 7 failure after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The tweet led to a sharp attack on Netanyahu from inside and outside his government, as it only appeared as if he was trying to evade any responsibility for the matter at a critical time, but Netanyahu was eventually forced to delete the tweet and apologize.
This imbalance that we observed in Netanyahu's various statements after the Al-Aqsa flood also leads us to an important question that reveals part of his personality: What do we know about Benjamin Netanyahu's personality? A study conducted by Tel Aviv University psychology professor Shaul Komkhi attempts to investigate Benjamin Netanyahu's personality traits. This study is based on an analysis of publicly reported behavior, such as books written by Benjamin Netanyahu himself, and news and statements about him published in Israeli newspapers, including interviews he gave to newspapers and television. This method uses measures of thoughts, feelings and actions that have continuity over time, and the study has come out with some features of Netanyahu's personality, which we present in turn.
Wrapping around oneself
Netanyahu has trouble understanding and appreciating any other point of view that differs from his own. (Photo: Shutterstock)
According to the paper, Netanyahu has scored high at the point of self-rallying where personal success is more important to him than the ideology he says he seeks to achieve, and even does not hesitate to exploit others, including his colleagues, for personal success. Several scenes attest to this, including the testimony of an interviewed journalist, in which Netanyahu claimed to distinguish historical processes that others do not.
In this context, his attitude toward the people who work closely with him clearly shows his self-centeredness, and some behaviors even reveal a preoccupation with himself to the extent that others receive no consideration, and this trait is evident in Netanyahu's dealings with fellow politicians, where the man has trouble understanding and appreciating any other point of view that differs from his own. As proof of this, the study notes that Netanyahu did not provide in his books any examples of attempts to understand or present points of view other than those expressing his own, and this is also clearly demonstrated in his speeches.
In this type of person, who are focused on their own world, it is difficult to distinguish between the personal or political dimensions of their life, because everything revolves around them in the end, and the study shows an example that in a meeting with senior members of the Likud party after the Bar-On affair (an internal administrative scandal in Israel) he commented with sentences that express only himself such as "I receive a lot of support from all over the country," "They tell me to be strong and steady," and " We are with you," and "because that's what the success of the Jewish people depends on."
The desire to control
Netanyahu has a problem with unexpected tension, in which case he does not feel in control of himself and his surroundings. (Photo: Reuters)
The study indicates that Netanyahu achieves high scores on the scale of ambition and determination, and says that they are the two most prominent features of his personality, and these measures do not indicate the morality of the act as we will see in the following lines. As the study indicates, this means his continuous quest to reach the top at all costs, the concessions and excesses that he can make to reach his goal and remove his competitors, which may explain his continuation for the longest period in the premiership of the occupation state, and we can see this in his alliance with the extreme right, which was until yesterday one of Israel's fiercest enemies after killing former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, but Netanyahu turned towards this alliance in his quest to stay in power Even if it harms the "democratic" process, as an Israeli writer opposed to Netanyahu describes. In this context, he keeps setting big goals that may not be realistic, does not accept partial successes, especially if they threaten his position, and never abandons his goals.
The study believes that Netanyahu is usually characterized by "nervous coldness" in dealing with problems, no matter how large, he is unlikely to think casually, and he also puts alternative options for all his plans, but he faces a problem with unexpected tension, in which case he does not feel control over himself and his surroundings. In the event of sudden tension, this type of character is dominated by subtle feelings of insecurity, shame, humiliation and fear that he will be exposed as a failure even if he is not, and thus reacts in a terrified and confused way, and in such cases he is willing to promise anything and sign any document especially when he is blackmailed. Military analyst Amir Oren, for example, reported that Netanyahu was extremely terrified of the arrest of two Mossad spies in Amman, and paid a heavy price for them that would have been lower had it not been for his confusion.
Perhaps this explains the amount of confusion that we currently see in the Israeli management of the current crisis, especially after the issuance of press reports indicating that the US administration takes into account that Netanyahu's days are numbered, as well as there were some differences between the two administrations (Israeli and American) about the current war management, at this level of sudden tension anything can come out of Netanyahu's quiver to justify his position, and we mean here the extreme cruelty in the military operation on Gaza in an attempt to draw attention away from The great failure that occurred on October 7 (the Al-Aqsa flood), and this may also explain his indifference to blood or even Israeli prisoners in Gaza, some of whom were killed by shelling, which prompted the families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza to demonstrate repeatedly in front of his house to protest the way he managed the battle.
Manipulation is a lifestyle
Netanyahu has a limited capacity for empathy, so most of the people he socially associates with are those he needs or who help him. (Photo: Reuters)
On the other hand, Netanyahu seems to be a manipulative person, and according to the study, he does not see this manipulation as any immoral characteristic, but rather sees the game of politics governed by the "laws of the jungle", where the strong remain and the weak fall, and therefore achieving the goal justifies any means and at any cost, and the study indicates that when he was forming his government, members of the Likud party indicated that he was crushing people who posed a threat to him, and even attacked anyone who knew that he was a competitor. Potentially, it reduces and minimizes allies that may pose a threat to it, and it forms and breaks alliances accordingly, because today's ally is tomorrow's competitor.
Netanyahu therefore tends to be practical: he is not good at socializing and has a limited amount of empathy, so most of the people he socially relates to are those he needs or who help him, and when these people become unhelpful to him, he ends the relationship with them.
Lack of credibility
Netanyahu manipulates the press to his advantage, and he understands very well that manipulating the press is manipulating facts that are only facts in the context of his personal or political goal. (Photo: French)
The testimony of others portrays Netanyahu as someone who makes promises that he does not keep, and therefore is considered untrustworthy, and the study cites several situations, such as that Bill Clinton and his advisers were angry that Netanyahu did not fulfill the promises they claimed to have made during his visits to Washington.
This is consistent with the above in the point of the laws of the jungle, the man has a position that considers treachery an agreed and accepted standard in politics, and some opinions even believe that Netanyahu was an entrance to make "scheming" an acceptable form of deception among some politicians, according to the study, this stems from his conviction that in politics any means can be accepted as long as the goal is achieved, and therefore when he says different things to different people, and when he lies fully, he does not face any psychological difficulty or guilt.
This attitude is based on his dealings with the media, as the man has a great ability to speak and tamper with words in favor of the novel he wants to present, this was evident during his explanation of the position of the occupying power in front of an American audience in English perfectly, and this served him well during the race for the presidency of the Likud Party and later for the position of prime minister. Therefore, his personality suits the media, especially because he always tries to appear remarkable, and he knows how to make the most of topics that frighten the West such as terrorism, and how to manipulate the press for his benefit, and he understands very well that manipulating the press is manipulating facts that are not facts except in the context of his personal or political goal, and according to the study, he is very interested in the media, for example, he enters the conference hall at the time when the main news bulletins begin, and he is in This context treats the television studio as a battlefield.
Challenge
The study indicates that Netanyahu's management style is aggressive, undemocratic, and this is what some of his ministers and members of his government have previously acknowledged. (Photo: Reuters)
From the above, we can conclude that one of Netanyahu's other distinctive features is suspicion (doubt), and even according to the study, he thinks that "the whole world is against him", and it seems that when he is attacked, he feels more comfortable, because feelings of vulnerability enhance his inner emotions, which enables him to fight and constantly strive for victory, and these paranoid features increase when he feels threatened by his position, so he automatically suspects individuals who belong to a team other than his team, and here the threat is from the point of view His gaze is completely personal.
And if you believe that the whole world is against you, then we must expect you to think that there is a conspiracy against you, and in this context the study shows that Netanyahu promotes the conspiracy everywhere from the premise that whoever disagrees with him is not just someone who "disagrees with him", but a person who is "wrong" or someone who has an interest in his fall, but this in turn generates some authoritarian personality traits, he tends to deny his weaknesses and blame others when he fails, Netanyahu in this context does not He never makes mistakes, always wrong with others, because at least they didn't carry out his directives properly.
Out of suspicion, Netanyahu is an organizational official who tends to work alone, does not consult experienced key advisers, does not think he will need them one day, and if his aides are assigned tasks, he demands that they report frequently on their activities, in which context the staff must be loyal and disciplined. The study indicates that his management style is aggressive and undemocratic, as some of his ministers and cabinet members have previously acknowledged, and he has even been accused of manipulating to balance the Likud party.
Overall, the study concludes that Benjamin Netanyahu possesses many narcissistic personality traits, including a tendency toward self-aggrandizement, with strong ambition, opportunism, and complete dedication to achieving his goal, failure to acknowledge weakness, rejection of blame, manipulative relationships, using other people to achieve his goals, lack of integrity in politics, lack of personal and political ethics, great sensitivity to criticism, and an acute awareness of his appearance.
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Sources
- Feldman, O., & Valenty, L. O. (Eds.). (2001). Profiling political leaders: Cross-cultural studies of personality and behavior- (pp.149-165) Chapter: The psychological profile of Benjamin Netanyahu using behavior analysis by Shaul Kimhi Tel Aviv University. Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group.