The current war has become a stark symbol of the Israeli tragedy: while soldiers on the front lines, pilots in the sky, and civilians on the home front display remarkable determination, the nation’s decision-makers offer a spectacle of ignorance, complacency, and arrogance. The problem with the current government is not tactical but fundamental. It lies in the quality of the people seated around the cabinet table.

We must face a difficult truth: Israel is fighting what has been defined as an ‘existential struggle’ under a leadership that is hollow and devoid of moral substance. Integrity has been replaced with talking points, and strategic thinking with a collection of worn-out slogans such as ‘Our strength lies in our unity’ and ‘We will be strong’. But beyond these slogans lies a deeper and more troubling problem – a political culture built on deception and self-delusion.

A leader’s greatness is measured first and foremost by the people he appoints to positions of power and by the circle he gathers around him. Genuine leadership requires individuals of integrity – experienced professionals with independent minds and moral courage, capable of asking difficult questions, raising doubts, and preventing catastrophic mistakes that may ultimately be paid for in blood.

Yet around Prime Minister Netanyahu a process resembling reverse natural selection has been unfolding for years. Those who survive in this environment are not the most capable but the most compliant: the........

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