Overview

• In a Jerusalem address, he warned Israel must adapt to partial isolation and an autarkic economy, urging local weapons production.
• He invoked a dual posture — "Athens" for innovation and "Super Sparta" for defense — while blaming European demographic shifts and influence from Qatar and China for rising hostility.
• Opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Gadi Eisenkot condemned the approach, calling the isolation the result of failed policy and pressing for change.
• The Israel Business Forum and Histadrut's Arnon Bar-David rejected the framing with "We are not Sparta," citing public exhaustion and risks to Israel's economy and society.
• Reports tied his remarks and renewed IDF operations in Gaza City to a drop on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, which Netanyahu dismissed as a misunderstanding while asserting economic strength.