The countrys political system was superheated. He was able to translate the horror of suicide bombers into political power. An epic story of israel, america, and the life of Benjamin Netanyahu. Frontlinis made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. And by the corporation for public broadcasting. Major support for frontline is provided by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information is available at macfound. Org. Additional support is provided by the park foundation, dedicated to heightening Public Awareness of critical issues. The john and Helen Glessner family trust, supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. The ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. At fordfoundation. Org. The wyncote foundation. And by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. man speaking hebrew narrator march 2015. The israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu. Narrator jerusalem. The Prime Ministers residence. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to stop president Barack Obamas nuclear deal with iran. The Prime Minister has a messianic notion of himself, as a person called to save the jewish people. Narrator he was about to deliver a speech to the american congress. He never made such an important speech. He felt he had a historic role to play and he cannot make a mistake. He wants to be the Winston Churchill who stops the new evil power, iran, in the way that churchill stopped nazi germany. The Prime Minister left tel aviv this morning. He is scheduled to address congress. He wants it to be clear that he made the most powerful statement possible to warn against this deal. So, when the deal turns bad hell go down in history as the person who warned us all from whats about to happen. Benjamin netanyahu has arrived in washington dc. reporter speaking Foreign Language narrator netanyahu came as israels right wing leader vowing to keep his country safe from its archenemy, iran. Mr. Netanyahu was invited o speak by john boehner. A row between the Obama Administration and israel. Its rarely somebody who comes to say your president is wrong and you, the congress, in effect, need to stop it. Growing tensions between the u. S. And israel. It was extraordinary for a foreign leader to come into the United States congress and use it as a platform to try and undermine administration policy. It was a really audacious thing to do. He is definitely willing to sacrifice israeliu. S. Relations in order to do what he thinks is proper to fight off the iranian challenge. Narrator his audience the Republican Controlled Congress the president s fiercest critics. The days when the jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over. cheers and applause we must always remember the greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant islam with Nuclear Weapons. cheers and applause there was no other time when the israeli Prime Minister let himself be so deeply involved in american politics recruiting, redrafting american politics against the american president. Americas founding document promises life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Irans founding document pledges death, tyranny, and the pursuit of jihad. Netanyahu did an end run around president obama today. Thank you, america. With even some democratic supporters of the president calling the speech powerful. Netanyahu did not mince wos about u. S. Led Nuclear Talks with iran. Bring relations between israel and the white house to a new low. Narrator president Barack Obamas anger was no secret. They seemed to hate each other. This was the height of the white houses animosity towards netanyahu. I think they viewed this almost as a usurpation, as a coup detat and they were livid. Narrator it was a direct attack on his Foreign Policy legacy. He very much wanted to recast the United States as a friend of the islamic world. Part of that narrative is that weve been associated with israel too closely. Narrator obama summoned the press into the oval office. Tell me when everybodys in. Barack obama is furious. Furious. Its a humiliation for him. Its a humiliation in the midst of a very delicate negotiation with iran. The alternative that the Prime Minister offers is no deal, in which case iran will immediately begin once again pursuing its nuclear program. The president was angry; he thought this was an affront. Without us having any insight into what it is theyre doing. And it was deliberate and he wasnt going to try to make nice and pretend it wasnt what he thought it really was. All right, thank you, guys. Appreciate it. It clearly reveals a degree of dysfunction on both sides. This is some respects was a train wreck waiting to happen even from the beginning. Narrator for Benjamin Netanyahu, the clash with the american president was only the latest in a lifelong battle. Three armed arabs today hijacked a belgian airliner flying from vienna to tel aviv. Narrator in his early 20s, netanyahu saw military action. After being hijacked by the arab guerillas. Narrator Palestinian Militants had hijacked a plane bound for israel. The plane and its occupants would be blown up. Narrator the world watched to see how the israelis would react. The basic news is that armed persons who claim to belong to a terroristic organization, which is called the black september, took over a sabena plane. Narrator lieutenant netanyahu would be part of the special israeli strike force. Mr. Netanyahu was a member of the Sayeret Matkal unit, which is the. Its like the navy seals. Its the fabled unit of the israeli army. Its the one that anybody who was anybody wanted to belong to. Narrator netanyahu and the others dressed in airport mechanics white overalls. The decision was to act as a mechanical and technicians, you know, who is coming to take care about the airplane. And then they penetrate very quick into the airplane. gunshots are they shooting . Yes. Theyre shooting. They are inside the aircraft. Suddenly they burst through the doorways and escape hatches guns blazing. Passengers leaped from the plan while the israelis dueled with the hijackers. Narrator netanyahu charged to the front of the plane. Gunned down the male hijackers, captured the arab women, and freed the passengers. This was an unbelievable success. Two of the hostages dead, terrorists dead, and some of the Sayeret Matkal team injured, including Benjamin Netanyahu, who was injured in his hand, because of his friends bullet that was fired in the wrong direction. But, you know, minimal cost. The passengers, many of thm israelis got a jubilant welcome as they trooped into the airport building. Narrator in the days after the raid, netanyahu received praise from israels president. I think there was this element of a rite of passage for netanyahu to be in such a unit. There was nothing grander than being in Sayeret Matkal. Narrator he had earned fullfledged israeli status, essential experience for a young man who spent his formative years in america. When he was seven, benjamin, who was called bibi, and his two brothers, yoni and iddo, left israel. He spent some of his best years in the United States. And netanyahu truly admires america, the american culture, the american language, everything about america. Narrator he attended Elementary School in new york; high school in suburban philadelphia. He picked up flawless american english. Hes so american. When you have a conversation with netanyahu, when he really gets engaged in it, he switches from hebrew to english. Narrator the move to america was not voluntary. Bibis father believed he was forced to leave israel because of his strident rightwing politics. Benzion netanyahu did not get tenure at the Hebrew University as a historian. And he considered it a great defeat and a humiliation to have to leave the country and find his academic way in the United States. Narrator as a history professor in america, bibis father benzion drew a dark picture of the threats facing the jewish people. He sees a world that is fundamentally hostile, a world that is afflicted by an eternal antisemitism, that the nazi holocaust was part of a long series of acts against jews. Narrator it was a worldview passed on to bibi and his brothers. The outlook that is coming from his father is that there will always be a hostile world that would not care for the security and welfare of the jewish nation. And one thing that we should do is do it ourselves. Narrator the brothers were told it was up to them to protect israel. Theyre out to get us. They might kill us. Israel is fragile. My role is to save this people who are like childish, they dont understand history and World Politics and my role is to try to save them from their own mistakes and from these terribly demonic evil forces surrounding them. This is basically the netanyahu gestalt. Narrator and in 1967. Jordanian king hussein signs a military pact with. Narrator . Bibi watched as his fathers dire warnings were transformed into reality. Arab armies had massed on israels borders. In egypt alone there were more than a quarter of a million soldiers. Narrator thousands of tanks from egypt, jordan, syria surrounded the israelis. Hundreds of rocket launchers. The feeling here in israel is that well look at a very close and clear danger of being exterminated. The head of the palestine liberation army, ahmed shukri, calls for a jihad, a holy war. We shall slaughter you, we shall wipe you out. Kill the jews. Wipe out israel. At least for netanyahus father, this was, you know, history repeating itself. By lowflying israeli js who swooped in from the mediterranean, avoiding radar. Narrator following a surprise air attack, israel defeated the arab armies. As crack air force, infantry, artillery, and tank corps combine to sweep across the sinai peninsula. Narrator the 1967 war lasted only six days. Israel saves its own life. The victory was so profound, and so sudden that it had a destabilizing effect. It set in motion a lot of what were dealing with today. The war has created new refugee camps. More than a million arabs have been displaced, homeless and helpless. They struggle to survive while the search for peace, lasting peace, goes on. The search for peace, lasting peace, goes on. By the end of the 67 war. Isreal occupied the golan heights, the west bank, the gaza strip, and the sinai. Isreal had more than tripled in size. The occupation of land inhabited by palestinians would ignite decades of conflict but for the isrealis it was a historic victory thats the story of the six day war. It shows you have to be alert; you have to have good intelligence, and if your country is threatened, you have to respond quickly. Narrator a senior in high school in america, bibi had skipped his graduation to return to israel for the war to dig trenches. He would witness a turning point in israeli history. You could understand why its so intoxicating, and if youre an 18 year old, who was raised in the household of Benzion Netanyahu, who has a fatalistic understanding of the nature of the world, you assume the worst; you assume the worst thing is going to happen, and then this miraculous best thing happens, and it has to sort of set you on a course for the rest of your life. Narrator that course would lead him to fight in yet another war with israels neighbors. And then to the devastating loss of his older brother yoni, a National Hero who was killed in action. Lieutenant colonel Yonatan Netanyahu of israel. Yoni in israel is one of the line of mythical heroes of israels independence. People name their children yoni after yoni netanyahu. His book, letters of yoni, became one of the most read books, rivalithe diary of anne frank. So yoni is certainly a National Hero. The death of his brother affected him immensely, as the violent death of anyones brother would. But it also enlarged his sense of purpose, his selfregard, his sense of destiny, his sense of mission and purpose. Theres no question about that. From faneuil hall in boston the advocates. Narrator not long after his brothers death, netanyahu began a new life on american television. The first thing that happens is that Benjamin Netanyahu begins to present himself as an expert on terrorism. I call now as my first witness, mr. Benjamin nitay. Narrator having graduated from mit and americanized his name to ben nitay, he would fight for israel in his own way, waging the battle for public opinion. Look, im 28 years old. Ive had to defend my country in two wars and in many battles. Nobody wants peace more than israel. But the stumbling block to the road to peace is this demand for a plo state which will mean more war, which will mean more violence in the middle east. Netanyahu was one of the earliest people who brought up this message that there is a war going on and its a war between good and evil. And as i said. Im not talking about the arabs in israel, im talking about the arabs on the west bank and the gaza strip. If you let me, ill answer your question, please. And that you have to stand up in that war. And you cannot just run away. You have to fight it and win it. Israel wants to live in peace and wants to be secure. If that involves maintaining our own military guarantees against the destruction of people who surround us, yes, i believe we should fight for our survival. If i have to, ill fight again, but i hope not to. Thank you, thank you, mr. Narrator by the 1980s, he was appointed an official spokesman at the Israeli Embassy in washington as Benjamin Netanyahu. Benjamin netanyahu begins his israeli political career in the United States. Hes unknown in israel in the 1980s. I cannot imagine the growth of International Terrorism in the last 15 years without the pivotal role played by Yasser Arafats plo. What we are doing is trying to stop this kind of terror from spreading. The idea of bibi being a performer on Television Goes way back. You represent your country. You sell your country. And that is what he did and he did it with enormous pride and confidence. The arabs tried regular war, they failed. They tried terrorism, they failed. Theyve now embarked on a new strategy. Its called anarchy and trial by media. He has a perfect american accent, what he thinks is a fingertip feel for american sensibilities and touch points, and hes great for cnn. Narrator and in Ronald Reagans america, netanyahu was a rising star. Hes already a celebrity with the jewish right in the United States. He cultivated from the outset jewish rich people, jewish millionaires who would pay almost any sum at the time to be near him and to, you know, to sort of get a whiff of his, whats it called, stardust. Diplomats here were gatherg a short time ago for their third antiisraeli resolution in as many weeks. Narrator at age 34, netanyahu was appointed israeli ambassador to the united nations. He became israels chief defender against criticism of its ongoing occupation of the west bank and gaza. Israeli ambassador was n action immediately. What the Security Council is doing is sending a very clear message, its saying basically this. It says, we condone all palestinian violence against israel. We condemn any israeli countermeasures. Thats what he was built for. That was what he was designed for. It was reagans america, 1980s. Terror is the danger, and at the heart of the netanyahu worldview is seeing israel as the fortress facing forces endangering western civilization. Narrator in 1988, netanyahu resigned. He returned to israel to build his own rightwing political base. Preparations are underway. We expect to see the president shortly. For what he called a historic and honorable compromise. Narrator by the early 1990s, netanyahus hardline politics were out of fashion. The talk was no longer of war, but of peace. Negotiations were underway with their arab neighbors. Its a day for optimism. Narrator and now with the palestinians. A deal was struck in secret by the principles by the plo, and the israeli. Narrator israeli Prime Minister yitzhak rabin, a former general and hero of the 67 war, represented israel. Have now agreed to lay down their guns. Narrator representing the palestinians, Yasser Arafat, the chairman of the plo. A historic Peace Agreement designed to put an end to 45 years of armed conflict. This is a historic breakthrough, between israel and the plo, two National Movements competing for the same space and for the first time, theyre prepared to recognize each other. Narrator known as the oslo accord, it was designed to end years of violence by laying out a Peace Process, a deal that could give palestinians their own state and land captured in the 67 war. Once the agreement was done, it was the white house as the venue agreed for the signature. President clinton felt this was his