On windows of opportunity – Patrick KingsleyRonen Bergman and Natan Odenheimer in NYT:

‘Through a sequence of unforeseen events, Israel is by some interpretations safer as a result. Israel’s defeat of Hezbollah, the collapse of the Syrian government and the wounding of Iran — all these may not have occurred if the war had ended by the summer of 2024. And though Netanyahu did not initially intend to seek these victories, he was agile enough to identify windows of opportunity as they suddenly opened in Lebanon and Iran, and he took bold actions that rose to those moments.

In other ways, Israel is less safe than ever. Its reputation is at its lowest-ever ebb. The International Court of Justice is assessing whether Israel, founded in the aftermath of one genocide, is guilty of committing another. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu himself. Netanyahu has overseen one of the catastrophes of the 21st century, one that is likely to stain Israel’s name for decades.
But for Netanyahu, there has been one abiding benefit. He survived.’

Read the article here.

The summarization of an excellent article.

He survived. Everything else was secondary.

And the stain on Israel’s name will easily be confused with the stain on the name of the Jewish people.