Netanyahu makes Time 100 list

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is featured on the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2012.

The annual list is put together by editors of the magazine and includes political and cultural figures, without ranking their influence.

In an accompanying column, US House Majority Leader Eric Cantor described an “iconic” Netanyahu as “a strong, determined leader who has excelled during a lifetime of service to the state of Israel.”

Cantor praised Netanyahu for drawing attention to the nuclear threat from Iran “at a time of tremendous international instability and growing danger.”

“He deserves credit for drawing attention to the threat Iran poses to Israel, to America, to the region, to its own people and to the free world,” Cantor wrote.

This is the second consecutive year that Netanyahu made the list and he is joined by, among others, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and her sister Pippa, tennis champion Novak Djokovic, and pop singer Rihanna.

Familiar names on this year’s register are Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, both of whom are making their seventh appearance on the list. The highest number of appearances is nine, a record held by talk show host Oprah Winfrey.