Michael Goodwin: Netanyahu entered a hostile environment and met the moment with a speech that can only be called a success

It is a given that many media and political descriptions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations will call it fiery and defiant.And so it was — and so it had to be.Both the content and the sometimes-harsh tone were essential if he was to capture the moment and the point of his appearance.Once again and always, Israel is in a fight for its existence, and finds itself being abandoned by former allies in Europe and increasingly isolated on the world stage.Given those circumstances, nobody of sane and fair mind could seriously expect the Jewish state’s leader to come to a hostile United Nations bearing a bouquet of olive branches.Not to mention the fact that New York is now led by a mayor who is hostile to him personally and to Israel’s existence as the Jewish homeland.Had he delivered a subservient and apologetic tone on either front, Netanyahu would have been deserving of a serious head-shrinking examination.And he would have faced hostile crowds when he returned home to Tel Aviv, as well as almost certain defeat in next month’s elections.And so the timing of the address dictated that it inevitably would be a plea to Israeli voters as well as a forceful message of defiance to the nations of the world — and Mayor Mamdani.My view is that Netanyahu achieved a smashing success on all fronts.

Not that he necessarily changed a single mind anywhere, but that he made the best possible case for himself and his tiny and beleaguered country.As for the huge number of delegates who noisily walked out as Netanyahu took the podium, he called them “moral cowards.” True that, but they are also fools, for they missed a master class in how to simultaneously fight for your political future and your country.There are good reasons why Netanyahu has been prime minister for more years than any of Israel’s previous leaders.He’s a skilled tactician and has earned the gravitas that his long list of failed opponents have never been able to match.He’s also a b...