We have learned and taught that your image is etched into you. That it is easier to skin a person than to strip away a public image that has stuck to them. And yet, the current era has arrived, demonstrating that your image-the very reputation you spent your whole life building-is nothing more than a mask that can be shed.
Is it uncomfortable for the State of Israel to negotiate with a master murderer, Sinwar’s deputy, one of the architects of October 7th, and a man who miraculously survived an assassination attempt in Qatar? No problem. From now on, Khalil al-Hayya is a moderate figure, almost accommodating; the leader of the delegation searching for hostages and the fallen in the Strip, and the one who declared that Hamas would hand over all administrative authority in Gaza to an international management committee, security matters included. A new day, a new image: an easygoing, peace-seeking guy.
Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia was known worldwide as the man behind the murder and dismemberment of Saudi journalist Khashoggi? No problem. MBS hosts Trump, surrounding him with hundreds of people seeking his favor, and even embarks on a tour of the U.S. and other places around the world, all while marketing the "new and progressive" Saudi Arabia.
The Al-Qaeda rebel, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who fought the Americans in Iraq and established the movement’s branch in Syria, until America declared him a global terrorist and put a $10 million bounty on his head. Forget about it, that’s so 2017. Now he is Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, and with his modern suits, he is Syria’s "Great White Hope."
In front of the cameras in the Oval Office, Mamdani stood obediently behind Trump, while the smiling U.S. President described their "good and productive" meeting. Only three weeks earlier, Mamdani had called Trump a "fascist," a "tyrant," and the "poster boy for corrupt landlords."
On the other side, Trump’s supporters called Mamdani a "Muslim Jihadist," while Trump called him by various nicknames, including the classic hit "Communist," pinned to his name with typical Trumpian charm: "Commi-Mamdani."
Then, in a dizzying rebranding move, Trump suddenly crowns Mamdani as "Mr. Affordable Prices." When Mamdani adds a sentence about "shared love and admiration," you hold your breath, only releasing it when he adds the words "for the city of New York." For a moment, we thought we had completely lost our grip on reality.
How did all this happen? When Moshe Dayan joined Begin’s government in '77, an entire nation rubbed its eyes in astonishment. Dayan hadn't really changed; he was the same Dayan, with the same eyepatch and a thirst for plundering antiquities. We were always told that an image follows you to the grave, and once you are tagged as whining, spoiled cats, no one will buy the idea that you are actually predatory leopards.
And here we are in the post-truth era, where everything can be interpreted one way or another. The people who decide our fate are projecting to us that nothing here is truly serious, except perhaps for their own needs. And if we don't like their position, they have another one. Thus, image has become fluid, just as truth has become fluid. Only the results of their actions continue to affect us, and you can trust them to tell us how everything is good, much better, and better still.
