On the morning of May 16, just one day after he returned from Japan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in his office with US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. On the agenda: the spy scandal, Iran’s nuclear program, diplomatic negotiations and a long list of other major security topics.
But the one thing on Netanyahu’s mind at that particular moment was something entirely different. He was focused on how to prevent Knesset member Reuven Rivlin, a member of his own Likud Party, from being elected president of Israel. Stopping Rivlin has become his “obsession.” He has been “running amok” about it over the past few days. And those are the terms used by senior members of the Likud and other top politicians who have spoken with Netanyahu about it.
