Carmel firefighters
Photo: AP
Benjamin Netanyahu. Gained from the fire?
Photo: Gil Yohanan
The power of pity
Op-ed: Carmel fire showed us that key to winning world’s sympathy is to arouse its pity
One who only gained from the Carmel blaze is Benjamin Netanyahu.
The prime minister may not excel at trivial tasks such as long-term planning or prevention, but he’s number one in the world when it comes to disembarking from helicopters and directing a determined stare at the burning horizon.
Strengthening Ties
Attila Somfalvi
At emergency Cabinet meeting, prime minister says response to Israel's call for help 'unprecedented'
The Carmel blaze was Netanyahu’s finest hour; indeed, throughout his career he has been specializing in putting out fires, most of which he started himself. On the Carmel, Netanyahu demonstrated the doctrine whereby a prime minister is not a leader who outlines policy, but rather, a senior firefighter who flourishes at times of crisis.
Under the auspices of the fire, we also enjoyed an emotional reunion between Israel and global sympathy. Firefighting aircraft came for a visit and aid delegations arrived as if there is no Lieberman.
This time, it may lead to the resumption of ties with Turkey. Yet give us a lethal hurricane, and we may end up signing a peace treaty with Syria, according to the “pity in exchange for peace” formula.
Hence, in order to improve Israel’s frail status in the world, there is no escaping the need to draw conclusions from the fire and change our way of thinking. We need to abandon the collapsing model known as “the strong Israel” in favor of the alternate model that brought nice results during the fire: “The miserable Israel.”
As under the current government the only way to elicit the world’s love is to make it pity us, now is the time to act. The prime minister needs to adopt the “catastrophe school of thought” that will present Israel as a state stricken by natural disasters and crumbling firefighting services. Two days like this and the world will no longer dare be against us.
For that reason, if I were Netanyahu, I would do away with all that nonsense about restoring the forests of the Carmel. Instead, I would send an messenger to the Jerusalem-area woods with matches and a fuel canister.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
