Much about the newest iteration of Bibi is new. The most notable change is his attitude toward issues of religion and state
Bibi is back in power, and in some ways he hasn’t changed. He’s still the seasoned statesman and most experienced negotiator in any room. He’s still the stalwart champion of the Jewish People in their land, refusing to bend or show any weakness. And he’s still a calculated politician, a keen power player who crafts his personal brand and policy to his best advantage.
But in other, very consequential ways, much about the newest iteration of Bibi is new. The most notable change is his attitude toward issues of religion and state. The Bibi of the ’90s was supported by the chareidim as the leader of the right-wing bloc — a man with a very strong sense of Jewish identity and destiny — but was perceived as very far from the world of Orthodox Judaism in his personal life.
One anecdote repeated with a measure of derision over the years tells of Netanyahu’s first meeting with the chareidi political leadership of the day, at a Agudas Yisrael conference at the religious kibbutz Nir Etzion. The newly elected opposition leader made the trip from Jerusalem to northern Israel to give an impassioned speech and regale the chareidi representatives with a story about how his son Yair had come home from preschool, stood up on the couch, and started singing “Adon Olam.” The eye rolls in the audience said everything.
A few years later, during the 1999 election campaign (which he ultimately lost to Ehud Barak), Netanyahu was famously overheard whispering to Rav Yitzchak Kaduri ztz”l: “The left has forgotten what it means to be Jews.” The left and even some elements on the right pounced, portraying Netanyahu as a secular politician without a vestige of tradition who was putting on an act to maintain his political partnership with the chareidi and religious parties.
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