Lustick talks on Netanyahu's rise and fall in politics

The chairperson of the Political Science Department, an expert on the Middle East, spoke yesterday in Stiteler Hall. The chairperson of the Political Science Department, an expert on the Middle East, spoke yesterday in Stiteler Hall.by Jonathan KohnThe chairperson of the Political Science Department, an expert on the Middle East, spoke yesterday in Stiteler Hall.by Jonathan KohnThe Daily Pennsylvanian The highly critical 70-minute lecture, entitled "From Bibi Boom To Bibi Bust: The Rise and Fall of an Israeli Politician," was presented by Connaissance and the Jewish Renaissance Project and highlighted both Netanyahu's social and political backgrounds and those of his conservative Likud Party. "Bibi," as Israelis call Netanyahu, will speak in Irvine Auditorium tomorrow at 8 p.m. before a sold-out audience. Netanyahu was elected prime minister in 1996, running on a platform of "peace with security" and charging that his opponent, incumbent Prime Minister Shimon Peres, was too willing to make unnecessary compromises with the Palestinians. Once in office, Netanyahu rapidly became Israel's most controversial political figure. His administration was rocked by scandal and frequent cabinet resignations and torn apart by the need to push forward with a peace process Netanyahu had long disavowed. Bibi would go on to lose the 1999 general election to Ehud Barak, a member of the Labor Party who supported the pro-peace policies of the slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's government. Barak's victory is attributed by many to his championing of social and economic issues. According to Lustick, by the end of his administration in 1999, Netanyahu was "an embarrassment to the public." But Lustick was particularly critical of Netanyahu's 1996 campaign for office. Having been a high school and college student in the United States, Netanyahu was heavily influenced by the neo-Conservatism of the 1970s, Lustick said. Lustick went on to charge Netanyahu with running an "American-style" campaign in 1996 and with fabricating lies about his opponents, including Peres. First elected to the Knesset, or parliament, in 1988, Netanyahu became the leader of his Likud Party only five years later -- a position he held until just after his loss to Ehud Barak. Three years after moving to the head of the Likud Party, Netanyahu became Israel's first directly elected prime minister. According to Lustick, direct elections favored Netanyahu over other intra-party candidates in 1996, as he had gained notoriety for his attacks on the policies of the government of Rabin, the Labor party prime minister who was assassinated by a right-wing extremist in 1994. Lustick added that Netanyahu played an instrumental role in passing the legislation that separated the parliamentary elections from the election for prime minister. Prior to the 1996 election, Israeli citizens voted by party to determine the composition of the parliament. The majority party, or a coalition of parties, then selected a prime minister. During the question-and-answer period, one student asked Lustick what he felt Netanyahu's true agenda was, in light of his failing to appease the right or the left throughout his administration. Lustick said that was precisely the question. Maybe, he said, "he wanted to be prime minister for eight or 10 years," and didn't care about a platform. A politician generally cares most about what he is best at, Lustick said. "What he was best at was lying, that is, public relations." JRP members were generally pleased with the exposure the event gave to tomorrow's speaker. Adam Magnus, a College junior and an organizer of the lecture, said, "I was glad to see that the Jewish Renaissance Project could use Netanyahu's visit as a way of informing students about Netanyahu and Israeli politics."