Iran deal isn’t Netanyahu’s worst defeat, it’s proof of his greatest triumph

Netanyahu's adversaries have it wrong: If the Iran deal proved anything, it is that the PM and his views have taken over political discourse in Israel 

By Asher Schechter, haaretz.com

Extract:

Israel’s ... opposition leader and former finance minister, Yair Lapid, also condemned the Iran deal, declaring it a “bad day for the Jews.” ... [H]e laid the blame squarely on Netanyahu’s shoulders, calling the Iran deal “the biggest foreign policy failure in the history of Israel” and demanding a public inquiry commission on Netanyahu’s handling of the Iran nuclear issue. Yet Lapid also boasted enlisting in Israel’s public diplomacy efforts, and was so eager to out-Netanyahu Netanyahu that he denounced the deal even before its details were made public. Lapid even reiterated Netanyahu’s statement that “Israel is not obligated to the Iran deal.” ...

Image from article, with caption: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu illustrates his concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions during a UNGA address, Sept. 27, 2012.

In Netanyahu’s Israel, there is only one way to react to a deal that the rest of the West greeted with at least some measure of cautious optimism: fear and paranoia. And when it comes to fear and paranoia, Netanyahu is equal to none.