Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made headlines in the print press this weekend, with interviews appearing in all the major political supplements. These interviews, six in all, with all the country’s press outlets ended up providing a treasure trove of important headlines. Apparently, it was all part of a carefully coordinated campaign. Despite his busy schedule at the height of the omicron wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the prime minister devoted hours upon hours to this weekend media blitz.

In each of these interviews, Bennett made a point of accusing his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu of running a well-oiled propaganda effort intended to tarnish his reputation.

In an interview with Maariv, Bennett said, “The man built one of the most effective propaganda machines ever, on an international scale. It is a machine that includes a radio station and a television station, both of which work full time for him. Journalists in his employ, whether they were hired or recruited by him, are producing crude and fake stories on an unprecedented scale, but at least these are real. There are also paid demonstrators, who travel from place to place. They aren’t usually able to corral a crowd of supporters, but they take to the streets with powerful megaphones. They stalk Knesset members from my party and from [Justice Minister] Gideon Saar’s party, and make up stories at such an insane pace that it is hard to keep track. Did you know that yesterday I discovered that my mother is Catholic?”

At the same time, Bennett also gave himself high marks for his handling of the coronavirus crisis. This, despite all the polls showing that people are far from thinking that.