On the image – Hagai Amit in Haaretz:

'“As I said, he was a prime minister who engaged in diplomacy. And the relationship with the United States is always the responsibility of the prime minister.” Although she avoids engaging in what she calls gossip, Halbani’s descriptions underscore the manner in which Netanyahu built his international status over the years.
“In 2015, we took part in the climate conference in Paris,” she recalls, “and U.S. President Barack Obama got up to speak. Relations between him and Netanyahu were not particularly warm at the time. Netanyahu was sitting in the front row and I, as always, was behind him, alongside the security man – so that if he wanted something, whether it was a tissue or to whisper a question in my ear, I would be there.
“In these situations, my head is always marching one step ahead. Obama is delivering his speech and I’m tapping Netanyahu’s back and saying to him: ‘The moment Obama comes down from the stage, you stand up first and walk over to him.’ He said to me: ‘Everyone’s sitting down, how can I stand up?’ I told him: ‘That’s what’s going to happen. Everyone is seated – you stand up.’ He said to me: ‘But Edna...’ I said to him: ‘Enough with ‘But Edna.’ I tap you on the back and you stand up.’

“He hesitated. It was truly not the usual step to take. But then the president walked off the stage and I said to Netanyahu ‘Walk toward him.’ Everyone was sitting down and Netanyahu was the only one who stood up. Although the photographer was lying down on the job, I had my own phone and took a photo in which two heads of state were walking together, and the entire world was seeing Netanyahu with Obama walking together in the aisle alone. Thanks to me, they showed that photo on all of the TV networks.” What did they talk about? “I don’t know.” This is Israeli chutzpah.
“Yes. The prime minister was in shock. He appreciated it at a level you wouldn’t believe. Do you know what it does when all the heads of state are left behind and only Netanyahu is walking with him?” So this was how he established himself as a global leader.
“You can do a whole lot of things, but if people do not visually see the meeting, then it’s lacking something.”’

Read the interview here.

A delightful interview.

Politics as a craft that consists mainly of creating images.

And yes, now you see it, but sometimes you just see it visually.

You want to be prime minister? Hire a good chief of staff first.