Senior clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr. Ofer Grozberg spoke with Maariv on Thursday about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's personality, family history, and decision-making.
The interview provides insights into Netanyahu's history and psychology in light of his election as prime minister exactly 29 years ago, on May 29, 1996.
The psychoanalyst began by saying, “By way of introduction, let me say a few words about my psychoanalytic approach and how I work. One night, I dreamt that the prime minister’s convoy needed to reach a place where I happened to be. They asked me to explain how to get there, and I tried to explain as clearly as I could. After the conversation, I asked myself how it is that the prime minister’s convoy doesn’t have Waze."
He continued, "I know that most people don’t deal with their dreams, maybe even dismiss them. I also know that politicians behave as if they have no unconscious—otherwise, they would be more humble and less arrogant and self-assured. But as a psychoanalyst, I know that sometimes we repress highly important information (the enemy is deterred), and that dreams often reveal hidden truths.”
“The following lines will raise certain insights about Benjamin Netanyahu’s personality, both in praise and criticism, but there is no implication that other leaders are better. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.”
“Full disclosure: I don’t know whether I’m left-wing or right-wing, and I think that’s a good thing, because these distinctions narrow and fix our thinking into predefined patterns. Therefore, when I sat down to write about Bibi’s personality and describe it, I felt as if I were solving a complex, long-standing riddle.”
What lies behind his 'polished performances'?
“Let’s start with what is obvious and well-known. We all see him in the media with carefully measured and meticulously planned appearances. Most of us are impressed by his rhetorical ability - but what lies behind these polished performances? What kind of person is he, and more importantly, how does this affect our fate?”
According to the psychoanalyst, Netanyahu is a skilled orator who knows how to captivate large audiences, particularly those who crave drama and pathos as a means of fostering national unity. His speeches frequently echo a consistent theme: “We will always be strong, we will survive, and we will prevail.” Delivered in concise sentences and accompanied by emphatic, well-rehearsed gestures, the performance reinforces his image as a leader who speaks with authority. The tone is biblical.”
However, audiences in the political center and on the left often struggle to connect with this style. Some view it as condescending, states the psychoanalyst. They might prefer a more introspective and egalitarian mode of communication—one that appeals to reason rather than rallying emotions.
“But without a doubt, many world leaders appreciate Bibi — even if they openly oppose his policies—not just because of his fluent English, but because he usually represents Israel with pride, from a position of strength and determination, not weakness and submission. He undoubtedly projects a line of national pride, and that’s to his credit—whichever way you look at it.”
“We see a man who speaks in terms of survival and victory — and this is not surprising, as Bibi is the son of a Revisionist family that raised three sons who all served in Sayeret Matkal (the elite commando unit). His father, a highly intelligent professor of history, deeply knowledgeable in historical and political processes, instilled in Bibi the sense that ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me?"
“But he was an ideological, not emotional, father—cold, distant, and critical, who demanded achievement and didn’t allow Bibi, as we will see later, to connect with him or express vulnerability. Bibi deeply respected him, even identified with him, and in his youth called himself ‘Ben Nitai’—Nitai was the pen name under which his father occasionally published articles.”
“In his eulogy for his father, Bibi described a weak mother who admired her genius husband: ‘I married a genius, but someone has to darn the socks."
Netanyahu's relationship with his father
“Indeed, like his mother, Bibi also admired his father, who had narcissistic traits—being mostly immersed in his academic research—and therefore had difficulty forming a separate ‘self’ under his father’s shadow.”
“In the continuation of the eulogy, he describes an event in which the mother calls the father to discipline little Bibi. The father approaches Bibi in a threatening manner, and Bibi tells him that he’s not allowed to hit him just because he’s bigger. The father stops, thinks for a moment, and says that Bibi is right. Indeed, the mother was weak and needed the father’s help to set boundaries. The father, intellectually flexible, accepts Bibi’s stance. But the truth is that Bibi never succeeded in developing an independent self in relation to his father—and, as often happens, the story only highlights its own opposite.”
“Bibi would rise from his seat every time his father entered the room, and when his father spoke, Bibi would remain silent. Indeed, Bibi’s model of identification was a narcissistic father focused on himself, needing the admiration of those around him.”
“The family moved to the US for the father’s academic work. Already in high school in Pennsylvania, Bibi was active in the debate club. In such settings, you need to respond quickly and rationally to every question. In debate, there’s no need to feel anything or to be emotionally connected to yourself.”
“This, unfortunately, is what happens in our media too—where there’s a need to provide quick answers that seem reasoned and persuasive. As psychologists, we know that the faster someone speaks, like in debate, the greater the emotional detachment. The world of debate or media is a world where you’re not allowed to not know, to reflect, or to hesitate.”
“When Bibi returned to Israel, he chose to go into marketing—a profession where you tailor your message to the customer, not necessarily tell them the whole truth. Bibi is a graduate of MIT, which indicates significant intellectual abilities, and a former commander in Sayeret Matkal, which indicates strong ego capabilities to overcome difficulties.”
“However, alongside these exceptional qualities, he is emotionally detached. Given the narcissistic model he had at home, the need to please his father, and the emphasis on achievement, he never had the space to develop a separate and autonomous ‘self,’ nor did he go through the developmental stages that allow one to connect with their own self and vulnerabilities. Hence, he was drawn to debate and marketing. In the end, over the course of a lifetime, personality traits often matter more than talents, and the emotional component outweighs the intellectual one.”
“According to media reports, Bibi divorced twice and married three times. He cheated on his wives, and has a daughter from his first marriage with whom he doesn't maintain contact. She later became religious. In psychoanalytic literature, returning to religion is often associated with the absence of a protective and authoritative father figure — one that the returnee finds in God and adherence to His commandments.”
“Sara forced him to marry her, although he didn’t want to — because she was pregnant. Again, reports describe her as a hysterical figure who mistreats her staff, significantly interferes in policy decisions, and controls her husband. Has Bibi replaced a weak mother with a dominant woman who controls him?”
“His son Yair appears to be a figure with extreme statements, frequently filing defamation lawsuits, experiencing his father’s weakness, and not submitting to his authority. Even if only a small part of this is true, it’s enough to suggest that there’s something immature in Bibi’s personality.”
“Every person—especially a leader—needs a warm, supportive home to retreat to in times of crisis. It does not seem that Sara or his son Yair can provide such an environment, and so he remains isolated, without a support system for reflection and hesitation, clinging to the horns of the altar.”
“We are struck by the immense gap between how he presents himself in public and his weakness at home—such is the narcissistic personality that has not allowed him to build a new family that would support him quietly, as previous leaders had. The long political journey, full of survival battles, has also not allowed him to pause for a moment, look inward, confront his inner struggles, and work on them.”