I’m not mystified at the way so many Israelis have viewed Netanyahu as a necessary evil for so long: he and his people have carefully built the legend that he is the only person in all of Israel capable of functioning as Prime Minister, and that without him there would be a return to the days of frequent suicide bombings inside Israel. It’s not trivial: about a thousand Israelis were killed by suicide bombers in the noughties. Nonetheless it’s remarkable that if you mention any other senior public servant, including those who served with distinction at the head of big government ministries and who served as senior IDF officers, there is a characteristic scoff: They’re lightweights, or useless or stupid or whatever. There’s always an easy dismissal.

I went back through my notes after recording this video, and I noticed that the Bulgarian bus bombing in Burgas in 2012 was conducted by Hizballah. I didn’t say that in the video (I didn’t say it was anyone else), but the rhythm of the podcast might suggest it was a Hamas operation. It wasn’t.

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