Benjamin Netanyahu’s political gamble has left Israel dangerously isolated - opinion

The populist Right is suffering electoral defeats around the world, and Israelis should pay attention. Viktor Orban has lost power in Hungary after 16 years, and his cohort has been rejected by electorates from Canada and Holland to Romania and Australia. Now, US President Donald Trump's Republicans have lost both houses of Congress.For Israel, the implications could be existential. Its security rests not only on military strength but on alliances that magnify that strength. Israel has little strategic depth, facing enemies whose combined populations and resources dwarf its own. America provides weapons, intelligence, emergency resupply, and diplomatic protection.The European Union provides essential markets, accounting for nearly a third of Israel's goods trade. A rupture with either would endanger Israel's security and prosperity.Netanyahu's legacy of cultivating nationalist leadersPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spent years alienating Democrats and European governments while cultivating nationalist leaders.The Israel-Hamas War and changing public opinion have also damaged Israel's standing, Netanyahu's gambled recklessly that Republican dominance in Washington and Europe's nationalist Right would offer lasting protection. It is backfiring.So now he speaks of turning Israel into a modern Sparta, self-sufficient in weapons and prepared for isolation. Developing domestic military industries is sensible. But Israel cannot manufacture its way out of geography, demography, or diplomatic isolation. It needs Western partnerships like oxygen.My frequent meetings with diplomatic and military…