The back story of Netanyahu's attedance at Sunday's Paris rally

[Magda Hassan]

There is a whole lot of stuff going on in this. On the surface it just looks like Netanyahu is an arrogant insensitive opportunistic prick and I wouldn't argue with that. However, he clearly doesn't have control of his government if Lieberman and Bennett announced they were going regardless. If there is one person worse than Netanyahu in Israeli politics it is Lieberman. So I suppose on the domestic Israeli political front that made him jump the gun. So to speak... Then there is the fact that Netanyahu think he speaks for all Jews not just Israelis. And there are some non-Israeli Jews who also think he speaks for them too of course but the majority would not. I also noted his cry to French Jewry that they should move to Israel as if they would not be in danger there. And I also note that several of the victims at the Kosher deli are to be buried in Israel. I don't know if this has been arranged by the Israeli embassy there on behalf of Israel or if there pre-exists family connections to Israel by the victims families. Maybe both. But symbolically Netanyahu is claiming those victims as his. And as bad a Netanyahu has behaved to France, and it is appalling, I can only imagine the degree of political and diplomatic crisis that Lieberman would have created. It would have gone to 11 on the dial. So maybe Netanyahu was doing us all a favor? And himself of course. He is playing to his domestic audience as much as anything. In fact Holland and France barely come into it.