Netanyahu attempts another juggling act, perhaps the toughest yet

Israel's prime minister, who has long thrived on pitting one force against another, is caught between his far-right coalition and public anger over to the project of weakening the government the judiciary.

Just over a year ago, it seemed that the political career of Benjamin Netanyahu, the oldest leader of Israel, was practically over. Out of power, he struggled to maintain his relevance. State prosecutors had offered his attorneys a plea deal that would have allowed him to avoid jail time in his ongoing corruption trial, in exchange for a seven-year hiatus from politics.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Negotiations have failed, the trial continues, and Netanyahu, who denies corruption charges, instead finished last year as prime minister for the third time. It cemented his reputation as a magician capable of escaping any political straitjacket.

On Monday night, Mr. Netanyahu tried to pull off an equally deft maneuver. After weeks of pushing ahead with a deeply controversial judicial overhaul that has torn the seams of Israeli society, Mr. Netanyahu has sought to find another loophole.

The overhaul will be delayed, he announced after a day of high-stakes protests, strikes and behind-the-scenes negotiations – at least until after the Passover recess in parliament, leaving open the possibility of a high-profile compromise with the government. 'opposition. And his coalition of far-right and religious ultraconservatives will falter, at least until the next crisis.

ImageSupporters of Mr. Netanyahu's judicial overhaul in Tel Aviv on Monday night.Credit...Amit Elkayam for The New York Times

Superficially, it appeared the kind of balance at which Mr. Netanyahu has always excelled. Except this one might turn out to be his hardest to pull off.

And it's a challenge that, like the social crisis that has emerged in recent days, will consume him and distract him from long-term priorities like strengthening Israel's diplomatic relations with the Arab world and working with the United States to counter the threat of Iran's nuclear program.

"He's the magician who always pulls a rabbit out of his hat," said Anshel Pfeffer, a Netanyahu biographer. "Now he's having more and more trouble finding rabbits. "

Although a secularist, Mr. Netanyahu has for years maintained a fruitful political alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. has long been touted as a champion of Jews of Middle Eastern descent, and as a world leader he established a warm relationship with Vladimir V. Putin from Russia, while maintaining Israel's close ties with the United States. And as a national politician, he often formed coalition governments with parties to his right and left that he could play against each other.

Mr. Netanyahu's ability to triangulate allowed him in 2020 to forge historic diplomatic agreements — without ceding any land to the Palestinians — with three Arab countries that had long renounced ties with Israel until a Palestinian state was established. He presented the first of these agreements, with the United Arab Emirates, as a quid pro quo to suspend a plan to annex part of the occupied West Bank, a plan that some analysts have questioned if he really had the intention to implement it.

His skills defying the odds allowed him to rise to power for the first time in 1996, beating Shimon Peres after overcoming a deficit 20 points in the polls. And his ability to bounce back brought him back to power, first in 2009 and then late last year, despite the corruption trial.