Winston Churchill famously said that democracy was the worst form of government except all the others. Among Israelis, there seems to be a similar sentiment toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s seen as a survivor, someone who puts his political well-being above all else. Time Magazine famously dubbed him King Bibi. 
In this segment of Taxicab Diplomacy—where we talk politics with Israel’s most insightful political commentators, its cab drivers—the JPost Podcast explores how Netanyahu stays on top. 
As our cab driver commentators demonstrate (and recent polls back up), there’s considerable dissatisfaction with Netanyahu. The only problem: there seem to be no better options.
Dr. Ofer Kenig, a researcher on political reform at the Israel Democracy Institute, adds his insight as to why nobody has managed to seriously challenge Netanyahu in the past seven years.

Is Bibi the worst option except all the rest?

News and commentary from the Jerusalem Post, Israel's leading English-language news source

News

After a brutal primary season, the general election is infull swing in the United States. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, of course,emerged as their party’s nominees.  Duringthe nominating conventions in July, protesters of various stripes chanted “TheWorld Is Watching.” And it is! Here in Israel, developments in the US electioncampaign often lead the news. So what do Israelis have to say about it?
On this episode of the JPost Podcast, we bring you anotheredition of Taxicab Diplomacy, where we hear what local cab drivers think about politicalissues. On this episode: Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton.
Israelis have always had their own perspective on USpolitics, and most of them filter their views through the lens of one question:what’s best for Israel? In recent years, there’s been a feeling in Israelicircles that Republican administrations are more friendly to Israeli interests.For example, former President George W. Bush, who was unpopular around much ofthe world by the end of his second term, still had many fans in Israel. PresidentBarack Obama, a Democrat who is largely popular around the world, has much lesssupport in Israel. According to a Pew survey in 2015, just 49% of Israelis hadconfidence in Obama, compared with a world average of 65%.
But this election year is no ordinary election year.Clinton, the first woman to lead a major US party, is a known quantity. She’s linkedboth to President Obama, for whom she worked as Secretary of State, and to herhusband, former President Bill Clinton, who was pretty well-liked in Israel.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, is a wild card. The factsthat his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism and her husband Jared Kushner isseen as traditionally pro-Israel help his case. But he’s been criticized bypro-Israel advocates for saying he’d be neutral on the Israeli-Palestinianconflict.
So what sticks out to Israelis? Have a listen and find out!

Taxicab Diplomacy: Trump vs. Clinton

Today, in a surprise visit, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry came to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s the first such meeting since 2007, and it comes on the heels of a flurry of Israeli diplomatic activity. 
Two weeks ago, Israel and Turkey restored full diplomatic ties after a six-year lull in relations. Last week, Netanyahu flew to Africa for a diplomatic tour, the first such visit by an Israeli Prime Minister in a quarter century. With all these changes, one can only wonder if the so-called moderate Arab states such as Saudi Arabia will be next?
JPost Diplomatic Correspondent Herb Keinon argues that Egypt is reasserting its role in the region, in part, to build a Sunni front against Shi’a Iran.

After Turkey, Africa and Egypt, is Saudi Arabia Israel’s next ally?

This week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put an end to a coalition crisis, finding a path to install Avigdor Liberman as his new defense chief. 
Though the outlines of a deal with Liberman were already in place, Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett threatened to boycott the deal and potentially flee the coalition unless Netanyahu offered him concessions on security-related matters. 
Bennett had wanted Netanyahu to install a military secretary, who would regularly brief the security cabinet, on which Bennett sits. Until the change, Netanyahu and the defense minister could, in principle, control the information flow from the military and security services to the security cabinet, and circumvent them on important decisions.
Late Sunday night, Netanyahu acquiesced, and on Monday, Liberman was sworn in, alongside Sofa Landver as Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption Minister and Tzachi Hanegbi as Minister-without-portfolio. Liberman’s predecessor, Moshe Ya’alon, had quit the Knesset in protest of the deal, and over the weekend Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay, of the Kulanu party, quit his ministry. Thus, the man Time Magazine once dubbed King Bibi seemed likely to keep his throne.
But not all of Netanyahu’s political woes were put to rest. 
Police investigators recommended that Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit indict the Prime Minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu for misusing funds.
The charges would be over alleged fraud and breach of trust related to using public funds for purchasing food, paying special chefs and related costs for hosting private events. 
In a JPost analysis, legal affairs reporter Yonah Jeremy Bob casts doubt on the likelihood that criminal charges will proceed.
In US politics, Israel has become an issue in the contentious Democratic primary between likely nominee Hillary Clinton and her Jewish rival Bernie Sanders. Sanders, wielding power from his strong showing in the primary, got say in several members of the platform committee. Among them were prominent Israel critics, including social activist Cornel West, Arab American Institute president James Zogby, and Minnesota Congressional Representative Keith Ellison. 
Hillary Clinton, who chose six members to Sanders’s five, installed more traditionally progressive pro-Israel choices, including Wendy Sherman, who was one of the lead negotiators on Iran talks. The remaining four delegates were named by the DNC’s chairwoman, Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is among the most prominent Jewish leaders in the party.
And finally, Arab Israeli Ta’alin Abu Hanna won the first-ever “Miss Trans Israel Pageant” in Tel Aviv, ahead of Israel’s LGBT pride week. 
Abu Hanna, a Christian Arab from Nazareth, will represent Israel at the Miss TransStar International pageant in Barcelona in September. The annual Tel Aviv pride parade takes place this Friday, and is expected to draw 180,000 people.

Briefing: King Bibi pulls it together, again

Off the crowded, boisterous sidewalks of Tel Aviv’s King George Street lie two, small dead-end alleyways with the most cryptic names: Almonit and Plonit. Almoni in Hebrew means anonymous, and the phrases Ploni Almoni and Plonit Almonit are the equivalent of John and Jane Doe, an unknown person. 
On today’s episode of the JPost Podcast, we’re back with “A Road by Any Other Name,” the segment where we delve into the strange and interesting stories behind Israel’s street names.
The story behind Tel Aviv's "anonymous" alleys strikes at the heart of one of Israel’s central identity crises, as a socialist or capitalist state. 
We’re joined by tour guide Samuel Green. You can find more information about Samuel’s tours and hire him at www.myisraeliguide.com/.

The mystery of Tel Aviv’s Jane Doe alleys

This week, in a dramatic turnaround, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a coalition deal with Yisrael Beytenu, giving its leader Avigdor Liberman the defense portfolio. The serving defense minister, Moshe Ya’alon, resigned even before the deal was finalized, and said he was taking a break from politics altogether, despite Netanyahu offering him the foreign ministry.
In his resignation speech, Ya’alon, a former stalwart Netanyahu ally warned of “manifestations of extremism, violence and racism” in Israeli society and its institutions.
Former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak echoed the comments, saying that Netanyahu "is exhibiting signs of fascism."
Ya’alon’s departure from the Knesset paves the way for the next member of Likud list, Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick, to enter the Knesset.
The final deal with Liberman is expected soon, and in the meantime, it seems the Foreign Ministry portfolio will remain unfilled.
Despite Netanyahu’s decision to slam the door on the Zionist Union, which had been negotiating a potential unity deal for several weeks, the Prime Minister said that some developments in the Middle East had created a great diplomatic opportunity, and that remained open to the Zionist Union joining the government. 
Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls arrived in Israel Sunday to push a diplomatic plan that, thus far, has gained little traction in Israel.  
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In other news, a report from the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies found that a million Israelis were at risk of losing their jobs to computerization in the next 20 years. 
Workers with the highest risk of being replaced by technology include those without college degrees and those already earning less – in other words, the more vulnerable parts of society.
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The Mayo Clinic, one of the world’s best-known medical research and practice groups, announced a new initiative to invest in and partner with Israeli start-ups. It is the first initiative of its kind from the clinic, which will be sending representatives to Israel this week for a major life sciences conference.
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And finally, a JPost Poll taken ahead of Sunday’s Jerusalem Post Conference in New York found that Israelis think Hillary Clinton is more suited for the US Presidency than Donald Trump by a margin of 40% to 29%. On the flipside, however, 38% said Trump would be more effective against terrorism, as opposed to just 21% who thought so of Clinton.

Is Bibi the worst option except all the rest?

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