Read in
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “Hanukkah speech” to Likud members Dec. 19 was the meticulously planned opening shot of the last stretch in the battle for his political life.
Since he returned to the prime minister’s office in 2009, Netanyahu has convened two large political conventions of Likud members every year: on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Passover. His decision this year to gather Likud members on the last night of Hanukkah, a few weeks before the police are projected to recommend his indictment on the basis of bribery, was meant to get him to that moment as strong as he can be politically.
