Current sectionU.S. NewsShare 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 formatSubscribeTop: John Oliver. Bottom: Michael Che. Credit: Screenshots from "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" and "Saturday Night Live"Benjamin Netanyahu once styled himself as the polished English-speaking statesman who brought Israel honor abroad. Today, he is an object of ridicule in satire, late-night shows and on social media05:09 PM • May 24 2026 IDTIn recent months, Benjamin Netanyahu has begun to appear outside Israel not only as a prime minister in the news but also as a punchline. The name "Netanyahu" no longer necessarily requires explanation on late-night shows, in stand-up routines or in Instagram reels. It is enough to signify war, power, manipulation, Trump, Gaza and Iran – sometimes in a sentence, sometimes in a single word. In the News'There's Netanyahu Every Day, Dude': How Bibi Became a Global PunchlineA U.S.-Iran Deal May Be Hours Away. The Nuclear Question Still LoomsIsraeli Source: U.S.-Iran Deal Preserves Israeli Freedom of Action in LebanonNetanyahu's Shavuot Greeting Video to Israelis: Gaslighting, Hate and DivisionThe Tragedy of the Jewish Players Who Shaped Interwar European SoccerRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIBen-Gvir Posts Video of Police Dragging Detained Gaza Flotilla ActivistsThe Most Consequential Republican Primary for Israel Is Happening in KentuckyUnmoved by Trump's Ticking Clock, Iran Forms a New Reality in the Persian Gulf`'It Was Okay to Be Crazy': IDF Soldiers Discuss Moral Decay in LebanonWorld Leaders Summon Israeli Envoys Over Ben-Gvir Gaza Flotilla Activists VideoOn Israel, Gaza and Palestine, Bigmouth Tucker Carlson Spoke Nothing but Truth