Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is currently convening the cabinet for the management of the war, in Kirya in Tel Aviv/Government Press Office
During the day when we digested the Iranian attack on Israel, the current affairs studios tried to put order in the dramatic events. The impressive defense operation was mined to the bone throughout the day from many sides, with many commentators arguing for and against an attack against Tehran, and from the rooftops what they are concluding today in Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran itself, because the last few months have taught us that we are so good at getting into the heads of our enemies.
And while these exhausting parliaments were settled inside the studios, things reached a bizarre climax in the evening hours, with a truly unusual sight on the screen. You could rub your eyes in front of Keshet 12's edition and not believe it: the journalists moved aside, were forgotten at the edge of the table, and for long minutes no less than four retired generals interpreted the events among themselves. For something like 25 minutes only, the edition - with the exception of an explanation by Arad Nir and a few sentences by Nir Davori, and of course: the statement of the IDF spokesman, which is after all another of the same punch - the news edition watched in Israel disguised itself as a panel for a study day in Latron. Then we are surprised when they claim that the media enlisted
Military personnel are supposedly the best people to interpret, well, military activity. But the boring conversation that took place at Yonit Levy's table could suggest otherwise: not only is moving journalists for a conversation with generals not a recipe for critical communication, it also simply does not make for interesting television.
It started with a military commander in the form of Zvika Tesler, the Home Front Command representative at the table, who used a lot of words to say nothing when asked about the instructions, except that they were accepted based on a situation assessment. In many words to say nothing, except that it is difficult to know how the conflict between Israel and Iran will continue, due to the opening to "miscalculation". We immediately rushed towards Major General Yisrael Ziv, former head of the Operations Division at the General Staff and a regular commentator for the news company in recent years, who used many words to explain what should be obvious: that it is not advisable to start a war in a third arena, that it is better to preserve the international partnerships that made the Operation Haganah and not to be hasty in responding (Later Heiman used other words to say exactly the same thing) and we ended, of course, with Major General Eitan Ben Eliyahu, the former commander of the Air Force and a favorite of the studios, who used a lot of words to, well, praise the army. the air and the defense industries.
Then came the statement of the IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari. Hagari's statements are symbols of the current war, because only in this way is Israel able to officially discover what is really happening behind the veil of rumors. But Gerry is a scapegoat for the heads of the system. At the moment his speeches are an unbearable reminder of the shadow that hovers over the whole story, but is nowhere to be found. Yesterday it stung especially: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even after Israel repelled dozens of tons of explosives sent to it from its greatest enemy, does not bother to stand in front of the cameras and talk to the public.
Netanyahu's obscene habit of ignoring the Israeli media has gotten even worse in the last six months. He is interviewed by foreign networks, but he only talks to the Israelis in videos. The press conferences he had at one point became more and more rare. True, it is unpleasant to be asked uncomfortable questions in front of the cameras, but this is one of the prices of leadership. But Netanyahu avoided this. He does not answer the public who thirst to know: where we stand vis-a-vis Iran after the dramatic day, why after more than 190 days there are still dozens of Israeli hostages in the captivity of Hamas, why in fact the schools were closed but the workplaces were operating as usual. But the prime minister is not here, refuses to talk to the citizens and the media.
What did Netanyahu choose to say last night in the editions? Just one short thing: to deny a report according to which Gantz and Eisenkot proposed to react quickly and act against Iran already during the night, but Gallant, Netanyahu and others thought otherwise and this did not come to fruition. In the end, this is a debate about a step that did not happen - an interesting story, with a not so dramatic meaning. Still, Netanyahu's office claimed that the report was "false and exactly the opposite of reality." On the 12th they stood behind Yaron Avraham's report, and emphasized that it is based on four different sources. Network 13 were more aggressive. Moriah Asraf Wahlberg, who brought the story, said that in her eyes "it's a bit disturbing and sad that the Prime Minister's office decides to lie so resolutely about an event that had so many people present in the room." Sepi Ovadia was no less amazed: "What is a prime minister doing now that he is supposed to be conducting a cabinet meeting," he wondered, "In the end, what is preoccupying Netanyahu now is lest it be seen that his political opponent thought it necessary to respond and he conducted the discussion in a different way... this Simply amazing".
Many things can be said about this petty denial, but when you connect it with the refusal to face the public, you get an embarrassing picture - a picture of a leader who is so worried about his fragile image, and is unable to stop engaging in politics even when the Middle East is going up in flames.
in the small
In the parallel world of Keshet's promos, on the evening after Medina's white night in the shelters, trailers were broadcast yesterday for a new episode of "MasterChef" featuring the big "Crack Battle". Even if the program was filmed long before anyone imagined that Israel would find itself in one of the longest wars in its history, there was already time to edit the promos into titles with a little less bad taste, and leave military metaphors for the main edition. After it's over, no one wants to hear about one more fight.