As global outrage mounts over the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned to a familiar playbook—attacking critics, distorting facts, and framing all opposition as complicity with terror.
In a fiery video address following the killing of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington, Netanyahu lashed out at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the video), accusing them of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers, and kidnappers.”
The comments came after the leaders of the UK, France, and Canada issued a rare joint statement condemning Israel’s escalating military actions in Gaza as “disproportionate” and “intolerable,” and warning of potential concrete diplomatic consequences if the offensive continued unabated.
Rather than engaging with the substance of their concerns—which focused largely on the mass displacement, starvation, and deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians—Netanyahu instead attacked their character and motivations, suggesting they were emboldening Hamas.
But to understand Netanyahu’s latest rhetorical offensive, one must look at the deeper pattern that defines his decades-long political career: a reliance on fear, division, and authoritarian nationalism to retain power—even as it comes at immense cost to both Israelis and Palestinians.
This month, donations through Ko-fi helped keep Vox Political going — and I’ve just posted a quick update there about what’s next.
I’m working on a new investigation, a reissued book collection (free to £20+ donors), and plenty of videos to ruffle a few feathers.
Take a look behind the scenes: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
And if you’ve already chipped in — thank you. You’re making this work possible.
A career built on fear and militarism
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has governed the country for more than 16 years across several terms.
A polished English speaker with an American education and the son of a prominent right-wing academic, Netanyahu rose to prominence in the 1990s amid the aftermath of the Oslo Accords.
(This Writer remembers him as Israel’s spokesman on breakfast television in the 1980s, though – and I didn’t like him then, either.)
From the outset, he cast himself as the bulwark against Palestinian statehood and a protector of Israeli security through force rather than diplomacy.
He built alliances with settler movements, undermined peace processes, and repeatedly expanded settlements in the West Bank—moves widely condemned as violations of international law.
Netanyahu’s approach has consistently centred on portraying all Palestinian resistance, political or militant, as existential terrorism.
This framing has left little room for nuance and no space for legitimate Palestinian political aspirations.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Weaponizing racism and division
Netanyahu’s political playbook has also included weaponizing racism against Israel’s own minorities.
During the 2015 election, he infamously warned that “Arab voters are coming out in droves,” a statement denounced as blatantly racist even by long-time allies.
In his recent terms, he formed coalitions with extremist, ultra-nationalist parties like Otzma Yehudit, whose leaders have openly called for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel and the occupied territories.
This political strategy—amplifying fear of Palestinians and Arabs, delegitimizing human rights criticism, and framing global institutions as biased—has alienated Israel from many of its traditional allies and deepened its isolation on the international stage.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
Attacks on international institutions
The latest episode is not an outlier but a continuation of Netanyahu’s deep animosity toward international institutions that challenge his narrative.
He has repeatedly denounced the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, dismissing their reports on Israeli human rights abuses as “anti-Semitic.”
This week, he went so far as to blame the UN’s humanitarian chief for inciting the Washington shooting, absurdly claiming that a statement warning of 14,000 babies at risk of starvation in Gaza was a “lie” that incited murder.
The crisis is real: the World Food Programme and UNICEF have described the situation in Gaza as “a full-blown famine,” with entire communities surviving on weeds and animal feed.
The Gaza catastrophe and global condemnation
Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, has led to the deaths of more than 53,000 Palestinians, including more than 16,000 children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The scale of destruction—massive airstrikes, the levelling of entire neighbourhoods, the collapse of hospitals—has drawn criticism from across the globe.
Netanyahu, however, has shown no indication of changing course.
Instead, he has doubled down on the rhetoric of total war and unconditional support for the IDF, even in the face of legal investigations – including at the International Criminal Court – over potential war crimes.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, no dove himself, recently called Netanyahu and his administration “a gang of thugs,” adding that their policies are “close to a war crime.”
The harsh rebuke from within Israel’s own establishment signals just how far Netanyahu’s government has drifted toward extremism.
This month, donations through Ko-fi helped keep Vox Political going — and I’ve just posted a quick update there about what’s next.
I’m working on a new investigation, a reissued book collection (free to £20+ donors), and plenty of videos to ruffle a few feathers.
Take a look behind the scenes: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
And if you’ve already chipped in — thank you. You’re making this work possible.
The wrong side of history
When Netanyahu accuses world leaders of being on “the wrong side of history,” it’s an accusation steeped in irony.
For decades, he has pursued a vision of security through domination and conquest, ignoring the human cost and fanning the flames of hatred on all sides.
His legacy—marked by shattered peace efforts, systematic marginalization of Palestinians, and the erosion of Israel’s democratic norms—is not one of justice or strength.
It is a legacy of dehumanization and unending conflict.
And as Gaza burns and the world watches in horror, Netanyahu’s words—meant to intimidate and deflect—only further expose the moral vacuum at the heart of his leadership.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Benjamin Netanyahu: a legacy of division, aggression, and global solation
As global outrage mounts over the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned to a familiar playbook—attacking critics, distorting facts, and framing all opposition as complicity with terror.
In a fiery video address following the killing of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington, Netanyahu lashed out at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the video), accusing them of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers, and kidnappers.”
The comments came after the leaders of the UK, France, and Canada issued a rare joint statement condemning Israel’s escalating military actions in Gaza as “disproportionate” and “intolerable,” and warning of potential concrete diplomatic consequences if the offensive continued unabated.
Rather than engaging with the substance of their concerns—which focused largely on the mass displacement, starvation, and deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians—Netanyahu instead attacked their character and motivations, suggesting they were emboldening Hamas.
But to understand Netanyahu’s latest rhetorical offensive, one must look at the deeper pattern that defines his decades-long political career: a reliance on fear, division, and authoritarian nationalism to retain power—even as it comes at immense cost to both Israelis and Palestinians.
This month, donations through Ko-fi helped keep Vox Political going — and I’ve just posted a quick update there about what’s next.
I’m working on a new investigation, a reissued book collection (free to £20+ donors), and plenty of videos to ruffle a few feathers.
Take a look behind the scenes: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
And if you’ve already chipped in — thank you. You’re making this work possible.
A career built on fear and militarism
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has governed the country for more than 16 years across several terms.
A polished English speaker with an American education and the son of a prominent right-wing academic, Netanyahu rose to prominence in the 1990s amid the aftermath of the Oslo Accords.
(This Writer remembers him as Israel’s spokesman on breakfast television in the 1980s, though – and I didn’t like him then, either.)
From the outset, he cast himself as the bulwark against Palestinian statehood and a protector of Israeli security through force rather than diplomacy.
He built alliances with settler movements, undermined peace processes, and repeatedly expanded settlements in the West Bank—moves widely condemned as violations of international law.
Netanyahu’s approach has consistently centred on portraying all Palestinian resistance, political or militant, as existential terrorism.
This framing has left little room for nuance and no space for legitimate Palestinian political aspirations.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Weaponizing racism and division
Netanyahu’s political playbook has also included weaponizing racism against Israel’s own minorities.
During the 2015 election, he infamously warned that “Arab voters are coming out in droves,” a statement denounced as blatantly racist even by long-time allies.
In his recent terms, he formed coalitions with extremist, ultra-nationalist parties like Otzma Yehudit, whose leaders have openly called for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel and the occupied territories.
This political strategy—amplifying fear of Palestinians and Arabs, delegitimizing human rights criticism, and framing global institutions as biased—has alienated Israel from many of its traditional allies and deepened its isolation on the international stage.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
Attacks on international institutions
The latest episode is not an outlier but a continuation of Netanyahu’s deep animosity toward international institutions that challenge his narrative.
He has repeatedly denounced the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, dismissing their reports on Israeli human rights abuses as “anti-Semitic.”
This week, he went so far as to blame the UN’s humanitarian chief for inciting the Washington shooting, absurdly claiming that a statement warning of 14,000 babies at risk of starvation in Gaza was a “lie” that incited murder.
The crisis is real: the World Food Programme and UNICEF have described the situation in Gaza as “a full-blown famine,” with entire communities surviving on weeds and animal feed.
The Gaza catastrophe and global condemnation
Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, has led to the deaths of more than 53,000 Palestinians, including more than 16,000 children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The scale of destruction—massive airstrikes, the levelling of entire neighbourhoods, the collapse of hospitals—has drawn criticism from across the globe.
Netanyahu, however, has shown no indication of changing course.
Instead, he has doubled down on the rhetoric of total war and unconditional support for the IDF, even in the face of legal investigations – including at the International Criminal Court – over potential war crimes.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, no dove himself, recently called Netanyahu and his administration “a gang of thugs,” adding that their policies are “close to a war crime.”
The harsh rebuke from within Israel’s own establishment signals just how far Netanyahu’s government has drifted toward extremism.
This month, donations through Ko-fi helped keep Vox Political going — and I’ve just posted a quick update there about what’s next.
I’m working on a new investigation, a reissued book collection (free to £20+ donors), and plenty of videos to ruffle a few feathers.
Take a look behind the scenes: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
And if you’ve already chipped in — thank you. You’re making this work possible.
The wrong side of history
When Netanyahu accuses world leaders of being on “the wrong side of history,” it’s an accusation steeped in irony.
For decades, he has pursued a vision of security through domination and conquest, ignoring the human cost and fanning the flames of hatred on all sides.
His legacy—marked by shattered peace efforts, systematic marginalization of Palestinians, and the erosion of Israel’s democratic norms—is not one of justice or strength.
It is a legacy of dehumanization and unending conflict.
And as Gaza burns and the world watches in horror, Netanyahu’s words—meant to intimidate and deflect—only further expose the moral vacuum at the heart of his leadership.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
you might also like
UK involvement in Ukraine is just a lot of gas
Tory Euro flier is a catalogue of failure
Searching for silver linings in the Euro election’s purple cloud