Bibi Makes History as Longest-Serving Israeli PM

Stand for Israel  |  July 22, 2019

This weekend, Benjamin Netanyahu made history as the Israeli premier with the longest reign. The Times of Israel reports that Netanyahu has now overtaken the Jewish state’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, for the longest length of service:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially surpassed founding father David Ben-Gurion as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister on Saturday, having notched up a list of diplomatic and economic successes but with right-wing leadership many see as deeply divisive.

The 69-year-old Netanyahu has been Israel’s prime minister for a total of 4,876 days, over 13 years, according to a calculation by the Israel Democracy Institute think tank.

He was first at the helm between 1996-1999, and then again since 2009…

Netanyahu’s legion of supporters in Israel point to what they see as his effective management of a small country in a volatile region, a series of diplomatic breakthroughs and the country’s growing economy…

He has never been at a loss for words in describing what he sees as his achievements.

“We’ve proven that Israel can be turned from a small country that is situated in the corner of the Middle East into a major power in the world,” he told the strongly pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom newspaper in an interview this week…