On this episode of the Haaretz Podcast, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Noa Landau talks to host Allison Kaplan Sommer about how Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to stay in power since the colossal failure of October 7, 2023. 

Landau explains how Netanyahu’s aggressive shaping of the narrative of October 7 and the war in Gaza and Lebanon has helped him retain his grip, with the help of the “poison machine” smearing his enemies, an issue that has been in the spotlight this week following a television exposé on the ways his wife and son directed these campaigns. 

The conversation explores the judicial overhaul’s return and what it means for democracy in Israel; Israel’s rightward shift; how Netanyahu’s alliance with the incoming Trump administration factors into his plans; Israel’s growing international isolation; and recent Haaretz interviews with Netanyahu supporters who describe their devotion to him as unconditional (the article will be published in English this weekend).