In Israeli politics, perception is often as important as policy. Israelis do not merely vote for manifestos or ideological platforms. They vote for who they believe can sit in the prime minister’s chair on day one and manage a country under permanent pressure, threat, and uncertainty.
That is why incumbency matters so much in Israel. It is also why Benjamin Netanyahu managed to dominate Israeli politics for so many years despite wars, political scandals, domestic unrest, intelligence failures, and repeated public frustration with his governments.
For a large segment of the Israeli public, especially during times of crisis, the overriding calculation has long been simple: there is no obvious alternative.
Israelis are, by instinct and necessity, politically conservative when it comes to leadership. The Jewish state still faces multiple existential threats, from Iran and its regional proxies to terrorism, cyber warfare, and deepening international diplomatic isolation. In such an environment, replacing a known figure with an untested one can feel like a dangerous gamble.
Netanyahu understood this better than anyone. Over the years, he carefully cultivated the image not only of a domestic political heavyweight but of a statesman operating comfortably among the world’s most powerful leaders.
His election campaigns repeatedly leaned into photographs and meetings with major international figures, especially when such relationships resonated positively with Israeli voters.
Donald Trump became a central feature of Netanyahu’s political branding during the height of the Abraham Accords era.
Giant campaign billboards featuring the two leaders side by side were designed to send a simple message: Netanyahu is respected globally and can deliver strategic achievements no other Israeli politician can.
At other times, Netanyahu also highlighted his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly when Moscow was considered strategically vital.
This is precisely why reports surrounding former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s visit to the UAE reportedly alarmed Netanyahu so deeply. According to reports, Netanyahu revealed details of his own secret visit during Operation Roaring Lion in order to avoid being politically upstaged.
On the surface, such a visit might appear minor. In reality, it cuts to the very core of Israeli political psychology.
Despite signing the Abraham Accords in 2020 and presenting them as one of the crowning achievements of his premiership, Netanyahu has never had the defining public photo-op or official meeting with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Some of that was due to unforeseen diplomatic and political circumstances, including Israel’s own domestic instability and regional complications. Nonetheless, symbolism matters.
Had Bennett secured such a meeting first, it would have carried immense political weight inside Israel.
The optics would have been especially powerful because relations between Israel and the UAE have evolved far beyond ceremonial normalisation.
Since the Abraham Accords, ties have expanded rapidly across trade, security, technology, tourism, intelligence, and regional strategy. During the first years after normalisation, scarcely a month passed without Israeli ministers flying to Abu Dhabi or Dubai to sign memoranda of understanding, investment agreements, or strategic partnerships.
Israeli voters also noticed something else, the UAE was not merely quietly maintaining ties with Israel behind closed doors, as some Arab states historically preferred.
Emirati officials were often unusually public and outspoken in defending the relationship, even during periods of intense regional pressure. In Middle Eastern political terms, that was highly significant.
Recent reports that Israel supplied the UAE with Iron Dome defence capabilities during attacks by Iran on the Emirates only reinforced the perception that the relationship has become strategically indispensable.
For Bennett, appearing publicly in Abu Dhabi with Emirati leadership would therefore not simply be about diplomacy, it would be about legitimacy.
Since the political decline of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as one of Netanyahu’s most outspoken allies, Netanyahu faces a growing international problem.
The ICC indictment has made many global leaders reluctant to host him publicly, particularly in Europe. While there have still been successful recent visits involving leaders such as Argentine President Javier Milei and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the list of leaders willing to openly fete Netanyahu has narrowed considerably.
Bennett sees the opening clearly.
Unlike Netanyahu, Bennett currently carries none of the diplomatic baggage associated with the ICC proceedings. He can present himself internationally as a fresh yet experienced Israeli leader, who is security-oriented, economically liberal, English-speaking, technologically savvy, and acceptable to parts of both the Israeli right and centre.
Importantly, many abroad may also view him as a potential post-Netanyahu figure capable of stabilising Israel politically while avoiding some of the polarising dynamics associated with “Bibi.” Even Bennett’s history as former head of the Yesha Council does not necessarily deter governments seeking an alternative interlocutor.
That explains why campaign messaging around the emerging Bennett-Lapid alliance has focused so heavily on imagery and perception rather than detailed policy platforms.
Posters already appearing across Israel proclaim simply: “Israel Needs Prime Minister Bennett.”
The slogan is deliberate and carefully tested and polled.
At this stage, Bennett’s strategy is less about debating granular policy differences and more about implanting a psychological image in the minds of Israeli voters of Naftali Bennett back in the Prime Minister’s Residence on Balfour Street, calmly managing the country amid unfinished wars and regional instability.
This is the essence of the political battle now unfolding in Israel.
The central question is no longer merely ideological. It is visual, psychological, and emotional.
Who looks like a prime minister? Who appears internationally respected? Who seems capable of picking up the phone to Washington, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, or European capitals and being treated as an equal?
While Netanyahu has a clear head start, especially regarding the relationship with President Trump who has expressed a clear interest in seeing Bibi continue in power, his cards are weaker in many other parts of the world.
This is precisely why the UAE visit by Bennett mattered so much, and that is why Netanyahu reportedly felt compelled to upstage it.
In Israeli politics, a single photograph can sometimes reshape the entire conversation about who is ready to lead.
Ashley Perry is a former senior Israeli government adviser who has worked with eight cabinet ministers and has been involved in Israeli politics and every election campaign for the past two decades
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