The coronavirus epidemic could not have erupted at a more opportune time for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It turned him, once again, into the father of the Israeli nation, its supreme leader and national physician. No one knows whether this epidemic is a 21st century global apocalypse, as Netanyahu described the state of affairs on a special March 12 primetime address to the nation. What has been clear for quite some time is that the coronavirus has provided Netanyahu with powerful leverage he is using to dismantle the opposition by half the Israeli electorate to a government under his leadership.
In recent days, Netanyahu has faced the cameras every evening in time for the primetime news, teaching Israelis basic rules of hygiene, using amateur video clips to show how particles are sprayed by a sneeze and a tissue to demonstrate the correct way to catch them. The gig Netanyahu has taken on as national health czar is working. He is fostering an addiction and the public is going along, convinced that without Netanyahu, we are all lost.
