Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited the Mahne Yehuda market in Jerusalem Monday – a traditional Israeli election stumping ground, and one that was considered Likud's home base for decades.
While this should have been a routine election story, the visit actually highlighted numerous aspects of Israel's currently dysfunctional politics, the high tensions between Left and Right, and especially, the open enmity between the prime minister and most of the media.
To begin with – Netanyahu did not invite the press to the tour. Instead, the press initially had to rely on video provided by random cellphone users, and later – on video provided by Likud. This is highly unusual, as election tours like this are usually conducted with press coverage as a high priority.
The move coincides with open counterattacks by Netanyahu against Yedioth Aharonoth and other media channels, which he says are waging war against him with the purpose of toppling Likud. He has also made several attempts to circumvent the larger news media – including an interview on Channel 24, which broadcasts music, along with his wife Sarah, and a video tour of his home that was independently produced by a well-known interior designer, in order to show that his family is not living the high life as media charges.
The media struck back at Netanyahu with a story that is almost certainly fabricated.
Channel 2 TV reported that Netanyahu stopped at a coffee shop – one of the trendy dining spots that have been opened in the market in recent years – for a cup of coffee. Indeed, video from the event shows Netanyahu ordering a latte, and paying for it with a 100 shekel bill from his pocket – probably mindful of the fact that the media has been hounding him over his state-funded personal expenditures.
The coffee shop's owner, Channel 2 said, is “apparently not a Likud supporter,” and she chose to express her “protest” by giving him 87 shekels' change in coins.
Channel 2 provided the coffee shop's name and quoted the owner, Anat Lessem, as saying that “it was important to me to remind him that... we small business owners remember the difficulty of dealing with everyday life, even the small change.”
Lessem described the event on her Facebook page, where she claimed that she only served Netanyahu and MK Miri Regev (Likud) coffee because the Shin Bet security men were making her nervous, but boasted that she did so with “a frozen look” in her eyes.
Then, added Lessem, she refused a request by Netanyahu and MK Miri Regev to take a photo with her, and “the entourage gave me a stare as if I had run over a puppy.” She went on to describe what she termed her “perfect revenge” – paying him back in coins.
However – the revenge story is apparently untrue, since photos from the event clearly show that Lessem handed Netanyahu change that included a 50 shekel bill and several 10 shekel coins. Lessem has removed the post from her page.
Netanyahu wrote on Facebook that he is glad to see the market thriving again after years in which it was a target of terror attacks --- thanks to “our tough policy.”
The current election itself was sparked, according to many analysts, by the “Israel Hayom Law,” with which Netanyahu's adversaries attempted to shut down the daily freebie newspaper that is owned by Sheldon Adelson, who supports Netanyahu.