Definition of benjamin netanyahu biography book

This book started out initially to a 4-star, then to a 3-star by the last third, then to a 2-star by the end. Pfeffer is a reporter for Haaretz, Israel's flagship newspaper for its Left --- so, in retrospect, someone from Haaretz writing a bio on Netanayahu is probably analogous to someone from the New York Times Editorial Board or MSNBC trying to write one on Trump. The Benjamin Netanayahu is generally portrayed as a cunning, narcissistic, opportunistic manipulator --- both of the Israeli political system and the international diplomatic community.

The book starts out well. I do think it does a good job telling the beginning stages of Benjamin Netanayahu's life and the influences in his formative years that make him the type of man he is today. In fact, it does this quite well in its first third or so.

However, it started to go sideways as it detailed the military careers of the two Netanayahu brothers, Benjamin and his brother, Yoni, famous for his role in the Entebbe hostage rescue in which he gave his life --- and also one of the key influences on his younger brother. In his effort to play down Netanayahu's military and patriotic credentials, he does what really comes across as a mean-spirited hatchet job on Yoni Netanayahu. It would be as if Trump had an older brother on the level of Chesty Puller or Chris Kyle, and an American reporter, in an effort to get at Trump, attacks the better heroic deceased brother of Trump. It just came across as small-minded and mean-spirited --- if you dislike or despise a politician, then fine --- but that hardly means that every other member of the guy's family is also bad.

As the book continues, the bias within it against Netanayahu increases to the extent that, by the conclusion, the author casts all objectivity aside altogether. I've read many bios where the subject is either a loathsome character or someone whom the author clearly admits their dislike in the preface -- or the opposite where the author approves of his subject --- but, either way, the very best bios are the ones where the subject is shown clearly as much as possible as they are --- their flaws and their strengths --- and then trusts the reader to make up their own minds on the person being written about.

Pfeffer never does that. Netanayahu rightly ---- in my opinion -- does deserve criticism for his continuation of building Jewish settlements in the West Bank and for his use of thinly veiled racism in the 2015 Israeli election. However, although Netanayahu has influenced the course of Israel to some degree either as Prime Minister or Finance Minister for the last 20 years, he's given no credit for his positive role in Israel's economic boom, for the reduction of terrorist attacks within Israel, or for Israel's diplomatic progress in making more friends and trade partners for Israel -- particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Particularly egregious is the author's description of relations between Netanayahu and the Obama Administration. In the author's view, the Obama Administration could do no wrong in its Mid East policies. Little recognition is shown that not only Netanayahu but many Israelis might view with intrepidation an Islamic Republic of Iran that, since inception, has called for the destruction of Israel, arms terrorist groups committed to killing Israeli citizens, and that was developing nuclear weapons. No mention is made of the Obama Administration sending $150 billion to such a regime, nor of the questionable rationale for doing so ---in return for an unsigned nuclear agreement in which Iran's compliance with it was difficult, if not impossible to independently verify.

In addition, the author consistently portrays Netanayahu as the sole obstacle to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Authority. Little mention is made of the Palestine Authority's duplicity --- capturing terrorists for show, then releasing them --- only for them to plan or even make attacks in Israel --- attacks that killed dozens of Israeli civilians --- which naturally made many Israelis skeptical of the credibility of any agreement that might be reached between Israel and the Palestinians. If one did not know this from other sources, then one might well assume that Benjamin Netananayahu is to blame solely for the repeatedly failed peace negotiations.

I did it find this book a fascinating study of the inner workings of Israel's multi-party parliamentary system with is proportional representation. However, overall, I just cannot give this book a positive recommendation ----it is overly biased, not objective, and engages in selective use and omission of facts in an effort to influence negatively the reader against Netanayahu, rather simply relating all of them and letting the facts speak for themselves.