Tuesday (July 14th): Managers are not Leaders! Israel Edition

Benjamin Nethanyahu

Name? Benjamin Netanyahu

Westphalian identity? Israeli

Age? 70

Why is he in the news? For a couple of reasons and they are all connected. First, his constant talk about annexing the West Bank. Second, a cyber tit for tat with Iran and lastly, the “second” wave of Covid-19 cases in Israel. 

Why do we care? Not only are these topics currently keeping international affairs afloat; Israel vs Palestine, Israel vs Iran and Israel vs Covid-19, but they are also drowning Netanyahu with pressure.. Once he had Iran under control for a few weeks, Covid came back. Now that Covid is back, nobody wants to hear about his annexation. 

Why should you care? Because this is a prime example of a leader’s influential role in a country’s decision making. Nethanyahu’s personal involvement in all of the above issues shows how much of a manager he has become at the expense of his leadership. Only managing different conflicts without a clear agenda leaves a country to stagnate if not decline. The 20% unemployed Israelis are proof of this. 

Who else cares? Benny Gantz. Just like Netanyahu, Gantz has only been focused on politics and polls with the hope that he might be more popular than Bibi. While struggling for power, Gantz has shown how he is not any different to Netanyahu as he claimed between the last elections. 

Any further comments? Israelis are very discontent with the current situation. Some regions are in lockdown over Covid; most of which are Othodox who are already not content with the situation, leading to protests in the streets. To make things worse, the country’s leading health expert Sadetzki resigned because she felt unheard by the government in the past few weeks; undermining all efforts from early March and April. During these times in which the population is seeking comfort in leadership, Nethanyahu is busy pursuing his own political agenda (with Gantz close behind).

Joshua Dario Hasenstab

General Coordinator