Yediot Aharonot commentator Nahum Barnea, one of the most prominent journalists in Israel, is not known to be a great fan of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu or of his political and diplomatic views.
In a column published on the weekend, titled "Mr. World," Barnea devoted an entire section to Israel’s standing in the world, which in the past he claimed had deteriorated.
"You may admire Netanyahu and you may not admire him," wrote Barnea, "but you cannot ignore the status he has achieved at the top of the world."
Barnea noted that the reasons for this are rooted, among other things, in the rise of more right-wing regimes to power around the world, in Israel's branding as a high-tech power, the strengthening of cyberspace and Israeli openness.
"Netanyahu knows how to pack all these elements into one package, to hide the contradictions between them and to market them to the world in his own image. That’s his talent. Globalization plays twice in his favor," he opined.
He also made an interesting comparison between Netanyahu and former President Shimon Peres, who was considered an admired international personality.
"The admiration for Peres in the world did not particularly help him at home. Something happened to it along the way. For Netanyahu, the situation is the opposite: When people on the street are asked what's good about Netanyahu, they usually reply: ‘Have you seen how the world's leaders respect him? What the President of the United States says about him? How Putin embraces him? And how he humiliated Obama?’" wrote Barnea, before bringing the readers back to reality and sending the message he wanted to convey: For him the Prime Minister is an international leader, but he does not hide his revulsion and writes, "We voted Bibi and got Trump."