Netanyahu’s Balancing Act Proves Precarious

JERUSALEM — Little more than a year ago, it seemed that the political career of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, was all but over. Out of power, he was struggling to maintain relevance. State prosecutors had offered his lawyers a plea deal that would have let him avoid jail in his ongoing corruption trial, in exchange for leaving politics for seven years.

The negotiations fell through, the trial continues and Netanyahu, who denies the corruption charges, instead ended last year as prime minister for the third time. It cemented his reputation as a magician who can escape any political straitjacket.

On Monday night, Netanyahu tried to pull off a similarly dexterous maneuver. After charging ahead for weeks with a deeply contentious judicial overhaul that has unpicked the seams of Israeli society, Netanyahu sought to find another escape hatch.

The overhaul will be delayed, he announced after a day of highstakes protests, strikes and backroom negotiations — at least until after Parliament’s Passover recess, leaving open the possibility of a mediated compromise with the opposition. And his coalition of the far right and religious ultraconservatives will stagger on, at least until the next crisis.

Superficially, it appeared the kind of balancing act that Netanyahu has always excelled at. Except this one might turn out to be his toughest to achieve.

And it is a challenge that, like the social crisis that emerged in recent days, will consume and distract him from long-term priorities like strengthening Israel’s diplomatic ties with the Arab world and working with the United States to combat the threat of

Iran’s nuclear program.

Though secular, Netanyahu has for years maintained a fruitful political alliance with ultra-orthodox Jewish parties. Though of European descent, he has long presented himself as a champion of Jews of Middle Eastern backgrounds. As a world leader, he established a warm relationship with Vladimir V. Putin of Russia while sustaining Israel’s strong ties with the United States. And as a domestic politician, he often assembled coalition governments with parties to his right and to his left that he could play against each other.

His odds-defying skills allowed him to enter power for the first time in 1996, defeating Shimon Peres after overcoming a 20-point deficit in the polls.

And his ability to bounce back returned him to power, first in 2009 and then again late last year, despite the corruption trial.