Current sectionIsrael NewsAnalysis Although Likud tried to convince its base that the speech had been a success, the stock market's dip and investor panic made it clear otherwise. At the press conference he called the next day, the Israeli prime minister appeared confused, stressed and untrustworthyShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeSeptember 18, 2025Despite his Likud party's attempts to frame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unfortunate "Sparta" speech on Monday as a success with his base, senior party officials admitted shortly afterward that when he said Israel will need "to adapt to an economy with autarkic characteristics" and become "a super-Sparta," this was a slip of the tongue that should never have been uttered.CommentsIn the NewsIsrael to Perform at Eurovision Final Day After 'No Stage for Genocide' ProtestCan Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza Force Its Plan on Hamas and Israel?Source: FIFA to Meet Iranian Soccer Officials to Discuss World Cup on SaturdayIDF Soldier Filmed Pointing Weapon at Chest of Palestinian Who Posed No ThreatTop Hamas Military Chief Killed in IDF Gaza Strikes, Hamas Official and IDF SayRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIThe Hasidic Jews Behind Florida's Giant Golden Trump StatueStarlink Users, Beware – Israeli Tech Can Reveal Your IdentityIt Wasn't Just Revenge That Israel Was After in GazaIsraeli Artists Slam Venice Biennale Participation: 'Again, Israel as a Victim'Trump Collides With Reality in Latest Iran StandoffIsraeli Teens Storm Muslim Quarter in Old City, Haaretz Reporter Attacked