One of the best-known Shakespearean soliloquies was affirmed this week in Israel when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted dozens of world leaders at the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem. “All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players, … / And one man in his time plays many parts,” says the character of Jaques in “As You Like It” — and the glittering Jan. 23 production was exactly as Netanyahu likes it. The commemoration event was carefully orchestrated to prove that not only are world leaders not boycotting Israel, they are willing to visit and pay their respects. They provided incontrovertible proof to all the skeptics who believe the world is lined up against Israel that one leader protects them from all the boycotts and stands firm in the face of dark forces — and his name is Benjamin Netanyahu. Israelis watched the show, rubbed their eyes in wonder and amazement, and were forced to concede that “only Netanyahu can.”

The Fifth World Holocaust Forum was held in Israel for the first time, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis’ Auschwitz death camp. The timing could not have been better for Netanyahu — just days before the Knesset is scheduled to begin deliberations on his request for immunity from prosecution on charges of corruption (Jan. 28), and five weeks before another round of elections that will determine his fate (March 2). “King Bibi,” as his admirers like to call him, managed to bring together on one stage Russian President Vladimir Putin, US Vice President Mike Pence, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Prince Charles, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and some 40 other kings, princes, presidents, prime ministers and parliament members from Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. All were deployed as extras in Netanyahu’s one-day production, providing him with the glamorous backdrop designed to prove that he is a “leader in another league,” as his campaign slogan says, and to outshine his political rival, Benny Gantz.

The “Shoah festival” was the curtain raiser for Netanyahu’s election campaign, officially launched Jan. 21 in Jerusalem in a kind of small rehearsal for his activists, during which a video clip was screened showing Gantz stuttering. Netanyahu even imitated his stammer. The point was clear — see which one of us can only stutter while the other draws world leaders to Israel. While the media coverage focused on Netanyahu throughout the commemoration event, Gantz was forced to make do with limited airtime.

When the curtain came down on the Holocaust Forum in the evening hours of Jan. 23, a surprise awaited the world. It seemed the show was not, in fact, over. Another act was on the way, this one just as spectacular and more meticulously planned, scheduled to take place at the White House on Jan. 28. After numerous delays, with precise and deliberate timing, US President Donald Trump plans to unveil his "deal of the century" for Israeli-Palestinian peace on the very day the Knesset in Jerusalem launches deliberations on Netanyahu’s request for immunity. That was why the US president invited Netanyahu and Gantz to the White House at very short notice to hear his plan, which apparently does not stand a chance of being realized. The whole thing is so transparent, so clear, and yet impressive. The president of the United States is gearing up to help Netanyahu ahead of the March elections, what more could the Israeli leader ask for?