Benjamin Netanyahu’s Six Biggest Mistakes

“When the man meets the moment,” refers to someone who rises to the occasion at exactly the right time. Entrepreneur Oskar Schindler, for example, when he saved 1,200 Jews from deportation during the Nazi era. Or Chancellor Willy Brandt, when he spontaneously knelt during a visit to the Warsaw Ghetto.

These people didn’t shy away in the face of their ‘moments’; they instead were elevated by them. Their moments made them larger than life. Or, in the words of Winston Churchill:

Enter Benjamin Netanyahu. Here, we see the opposite. A man who consistently misses his moment. Under pressure, he doesn’t grow; he shrinks. He became a victim of terror and, for many, also a perpetrator. He responds to violence with violence and lacks a viable vision for the near future of the Israeli state.

There’s nothing wrong with Israel, but there is something wrong with Benjamin Netanyahu. Not only his politics but also his personality.

Here are Netanyahu’s six biggest mistakes:

1. When Netanyahu should have been vigilant, he was asleep on the job: The intelligence community had warned the government about the Hamas attack.

Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, now an opposition politician in the war cabinet, has criticized the prime minister’s responsibility for October 7th. Netanyahu ignored the warnings and allowed the terrorist organization to carry out its attack on humanity without resistance. Since then, the prime minister has tried to cover up this negligence with an iron fist.

2. Netanyahu is risking his ties to the White House: With his military overreaction, he puts his friendship with the Americans on the line. According to Biden, Netanyahu “is hurting Israel more than he is helping it."

In his speeches, Biden no longer focuses solely on Israel’s right to exist, but takes the stage to express his disapproval of Netanyahu’s actions. His main criticism: the ruthless form of warfare in a city inhabited by civilians.

The casualties: More than 31,000 people have died in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

3. Netanyahu alienates Germans: Even post-war Germany, which has become a major Israeli partner, is distancing itself from Netanyahu.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated:

While Chancellor Scholz holds back, vice-chancellor Robert Habeck spoke his mind during his visit to America:

4. Netanyahu is not aiming to pacify the international community; instead, he seeks to provoke it. The critic does nothing to appease the critics.

On the contrary, he uses every minute to polarize further. The Israeli Prime Minister stirred up emotions with a map of Israel shown to the United Nations General Assembly, which conveniently included the Palestinian territories. The head of the Palestinian mission in Germany, Laith Arafeh, wrote on X:

As for Joe Biden, who calls the planned attack on Rafah a “red line,” Netanyahu said:

5. Netanyahu targets Hamas and wages war at the expense of civilians: The hunt for the terrorist organization and its fighters is not being conducted as a police operation but as a military intervention.

The fact is that the Israeli army has leveled entire neighborhoods in its hunt for the perpetrators of the attack. The suffering and death of the civilian population are accepted as collateral damage - also by Hamas, which uses people as human shields.

In total, the Gaza health authority, considered part of Hamas, reports 31,112 Palestinian deaths, including at least 9,000 women and 13,000 children. 1.7 million people, 75 percent of Gaza’s population, have been displaced.

The Israeli government disputes the accuracy of these figures. The U.S. government and the U.N. say they are credible.

6. Netanyahu lacks a plan for the postwar period: The State of Israel’s previous security doctrine has failed. Israel has since abandoned the goal of reconciliation with the Palestinians. Instead they build walls and rely on technology to defend against missile attacks.

The wall and the martial border zone couldn’t prevent the Hamas attack. Even Iron Dome, the automatic missile defense system, was pushed to its limits. The Economist writes:

Conclusion: This is why Netanyahu has to go. He sees politics as a game of aggression and counter-aggression, of strike and revenge. For Netanyahu the old Stalinist saying still applies:

• Maria-Christina Nimmerfroh shares insights on the Last Generation. What are the activists planning next?

• Deutsche Bahn balance sheet: management announces a billion-euro loss.

• The Simpsons in Dortmund: a new exhibition tells the story of the 35-year-old TV series.

The Deutsche Bahn ended last year with three big negatives:

• The company posted a loss of 2.4 billion euros.

• The punctuality rate for ICE trains dropped to 64 percent.

• Debt rose to €34 billion.

The crisis hit the logistics subsidiary Schenker hard: Revenue fell by €8.5 billion to just over €19 billion. The freight division (air, rail, truck) contributed only €1.1 billion to the result, 39 percent less than the previous year.

Quick cash needed: Under political pressure, Deutsche Bahn must sell Schenker to reduce its record debt of €34 billion. Due to multiple crises, the proceeds fall far short of original plans. Once again, Deutsche Bahn is too late for the optimal time to sell.

Greenpeace reimagined: This group of activists has been on the move for more than two years. They are known for gluing themselves to streets and other public places and have since been coined the “Klimakleber.” The Last Generation has become a permanent fixture in the German protest movement. Greenpeace, on the other hand, suddenly seems out-dated and predictable.

Change of plans: A few months ago, the organization announced its intention to move away from gluing themselves to streets and focus on other forms of protest. But what exactly is the new plan?

On the Pioneer Podcast, my colleague Chelsea Speaker spoke with Maria-Christina Nimmerfroh. She is a psychologist who has investigated the inner workings of the Last Generation. Nimmerfroh gives us insight into the structure of the organization. The new strategy of the Last Generation is based on several pillars, she explains:

The adhesive actions - the organization’s unique selling point - have been heavily criticized from the start. Nimmerfroh explains how the activists suddenly changed their minds:

However, Nimmerfroh sees limited success for the Last Generation - even with the new strategy:

Listen to the Pioneer Podcast to hear the full conversation in German.

Bavarian car manufacturer BMW posted record sales of €155.5 billion in 2023. This puts BMW ahead of rival Mercedes-Benz, which generated €153 billion last year.

Cautious outlook: In line with the outlook of other German manufacturers, BMW expects only a slight increase in sales in 2024 due to consumer restraint. To achieve this, the Bavarian car manufacturer plans to increase its investment and R&D ratio to a record level of five to six percent in 2024. This will lay the technological foundation for more robust growth after this year.

Problems with supplier Continental: In addition, it was announced yesterday that BMW will exclude supplier Continental from all new contracts. This decision is due to issues with a brake system from “Conti.” An estimated 370,000 BMW vehicles are affected by the defect, with damages estimated at up to €400 million. BMW is the only buyer of faulty braking systems.

Stock Downturn: The stock market reacted badly to the news from Bavaria. BMW shares lost about 1.5 percent of their value during the day. Continental’s stock also continued to fall - down 2 percent yesterday, down 14 percent since the beginning of the year.

After almost 80 years, the German national soccer team will no longer wear the famous three Adidas stripes but the swoosh of U.S. competitor Nike.

From 2027 to 2034, Nike will outfit all German Soccer Association (DFB) national teams—women’s, men’s and youth.

Why is the DFB changing its supplier from a Bavarian company to a U.S. manufacturer? Bernd Neuendorf, President of the DFB, explains the change as follows:

Money, money, money: This is probably the real reason for the switch – the contract’s estimated value in industry circles is more than €100 million per year (for comparison, Adidas paid about €50 million annually to the DFB).

Industry insiders see Adidas’ decision to let itself be outbid as the new approach of CEO Bjørn Gulden, who took office at the beginning of 2023. He wants to have a broad presence, not just in a few sports and with top teams.

Nike investors sent the share on a rollercoaster ride after the presentation of the quarterly figures. Initially, they rose by around one percent. This was because Nike slightly increased its currency-adjusted turnover to $12.43 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations.

However, net profit fell by five percent to $1.17 billion. This is partly due to the ongoing restructuring, which is costing Nike more than €300 million. The share price dropped by 5.8 percent.

Double anniversary: The Simpsons has been on the air for 35 years and 35 seasons, and there’s no end in sight. This milestone is being celebrated with an exhibition at the Comic + Cartoon Showroom in Dortmund. The occasion marks not only the 35th anniversary of the most famous and longest-running television family but also the 70th birthday of creator Matt Groening.

The man behind the phenomenon: The first drawings by “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening are on display in Dortmund. He created them shortly before a meeting with Fox, where he convinced executives to pick up his show. Groening based the Simpsons on his family: his father, Homer, his mother, Margaret (called Marge in the series) and his sisters, Maggie and Lisa. The artist saw himself as Bart, the rebellious fourth-grader from Springfield.

Curator Alexander Braun presents a variety of original drawings and storyboards that illustrate the process of creating animation before the digital age. The Simpsons were hand-drawn until 2002, requiring some 24,000 drawings. Visitors will also see comic books, album covers, action figures, art-inspired works and rare collectibles.

The exhibition “The Simpsons—Yellow It Is” will be at the Comic + Cartoon Showroom Dortmund until October 27th, offering free admissions to anyone interested in attending.

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