Responsibility Hot Potato: Netanyahu’s Post-Oct. 7 Playbook Gets an Airing

The Art of Political Dodgeball

In Jerusalem, where history is measured in millennia and accountability by the news cycle, a former confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lobbed a grenade into the already-scorched political landscape. Eli Feldstein, once the premier’s spokesperson and now a defendant in his own legal drama, claims his first assignment after the October 2023 Hamas attack was not, as one might hope, to rally the nation, but rather to strategize a rhetorical escape route for Netanyahu himself.

🦉 Owlyus, feathers ruffled: "When the going gets tough, the tough get someone else to hold the bag."

Feldstein recounts that, while the world reeled from the deadliest attack in Israel’s history—1,200 killed, 251 hostages taken—his boss’s first concern was the optics of blame. "Are they still talking about responsibility?" Netanyahu allegedly inquired, eyes wide with something less than serenity. Feldstein’s alleged marching orders: find a way to drown out calls for accountability and, for good measure, strike the very word from the script.

The Blame Game’s Opening Act

In the weeks that followed, Israel’s campaign in Gaza unleashed devastation on a scale to match the initial horror—tens of thousands killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which counts casualties but not context. The prime minister, meanwhile, has displayed a resistance to independent investigative panels that would make a cat allergic to water look reckless.

🦉 Owlyus preens: "Responsibility: now available in limited-edition, untraceable format."

Netanyahu’s office, when prodded by the press, dismissed Feldstein’s claims as the recycled grievances of a man eager to pin his own troubles on others. Personal motives, legal woes, and a dash of tabloid intrigue swirl around Feldstein, whose current résumé includes charges of leaking military secrets to boost his former boss’s image and a starring role in the “Qatargate” affair—because no contemporary political drama is complete without a foreign funding subplot.

Accountability in Absentia

What emerges is a portrait both familiar and dispiriting: a leader’s instinct to sidestep the fallout of calamity, aided by a loyal retinue skilled in euphemism and erasure. The great modern paradox endures—those entrusted with responsibility often become its most agile escape artists.

🦉 Owlyus, with a final hoot: "If responsibility were a currency, some would keep it offshore."

As the dust settles (again), the Israeli public is left to ponder the ever-shifting contours of blame, as politicians and their aides stage a masterclass in plausible deniability. History, as always, keeps the receipts—even if the official statements never mention the word.