As Netanyahu hits 19 years in office, Israel must confront the case for term limits

[Right_in_Virginia]

As Netanyahu hits 19 years in office, Israel must confront the case for term limits
Jerusalem Post, Sep 29, 2026

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked a milestone: 19 full years as Israel’s prime minister.

Those years came in three nonconsecutive stints - from 1996 to 1999, from 2009 to 2021, and from December 2022 until today. Cumulatively, it is an astounding amount of time for one person to lead the nation. Netanyahu has served as prime minister for roughly one of every four days since Independence, and for nearly two of every three days since 1996.

For Netanyahu, this is an impressive political achievement. For the country, however, it raises a question: Is it healthy in a democracy for one leader to remain in charge for so long?

[...]

Too much time in power can be unhealthy for both the leader and the country. Long tenure can breed entitlement: the sense that someone who has governed for so long is owed certain privileges.

More dangerously, it can foster the perception that one person is irreplaceable, blurring the democratic distinction between the leader and the state. The leader is not the state; the leader serves the state.

An expiration date would also encourage leaders to focus on achievement and legacy rather than endless political survival.


More:  https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-910018

[Right_in_Virginia]

Holding a government position since 1982 (44 years) ---- Can we call him the hub of the deep state?   


Prime Minister of Israel
• First Term: 1996–1999
• Second Term: 2009–2021 (spanning multiple consecutive re-elections)
• Sixth Term: 2022–Present

Cabinet and Government Positions
• Minister of Foreign Affairs: 2002–2003
• Minister of Finance: 2003–2005
• Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: 1988–1991
• Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office: 1990–1992

Diplomatic and International Roles
• Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations: 1984–1988
• Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.: 1982–1984

Opposition Leadership
• Leader of the Opposition: 1993–1996, 2006–2009, and 2021–2022

[corbe]

[Free Vulcan]

Term limits is an American concept that doesn't just apply because the writer thinks it does.

[Hoodat]

Now do Putin.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Now do Putin.

When the Moscow press publishes an opinion essay on why Putin's length in office requires a discussion on term limits, I will post that essay and gather further evidence to support it ---- promise. 

[Hoodat]

When the Moscow press publishes an opinion essay on why Putin's length in office requires a discussion on term limits, I will post that essay and gather further evidence to support it ---- promise.

What a load of crap.

[Smokin Joe]

When the Moscow press publishes an opinion essay on why Putin's length in office requires a discussion on term limits, I will post that essay and gather further evidence to support it ---- promise.

If they ever did that, the Moscow press would do well to avoid standing near high windows, be very careful what they eat or drink and which streets they cross...

Some opinions are not well received in Russia.

[Right_in_Virginia]

If they ever did that, the Moscow press would do well to avoid standing near high windows, be very careful what they eat or drink and which streets they cross...

I know ... and that was my point because a few years ago this wouldn't have been published in Israel ---- But, who knows maybe the Moscow press sill surprise me someday   

[Hoodat]

I know ... and that was my point because a few years ago this wouldn't have been published in Israel ---- But, who knows maybe the Moscow press sill surprise me someday

What a load of crap.