It was hard to ignore the goodwill gesture made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the right-wing Channel 20, at the opening of the press conference that he convened Aug. 23. Netanyahu had summoned the political correspondents to announce his acceptance of a compromise with the Blue and White party. By accepting to delay the vote on the state budget by 120 days, Netanyahu avoided for the Knesset to be dispersed and for new elections to be called.
After making his announcement, the prime minister was ready to take questions. But with everyone raising their hands, including all the leading channels on prime time live TV, Netanyahu kept looking for the Channel 20 correspondent, to grant him the first question. Still, what looked like paying homage to the style of Netanyahu’s friend — US President Donald Trump — went far beyond that.
