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How Bibi Gets His Way

One word for it might be ‘nagging’

by
Marc Tracy
December 02, 2009

In an online slideshow accompanying his portraits of world leaders for The New Yorker, famed photographer Platon discloses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s subtle negotiating tactics, no doubt honed over years of talks with the Palestinians. “As I was doing this portrait,” Platon relates, [Netanyahu] leaned forward and said, ‘Platon, make me look good.’ And the bizarre thing is that once the shoot was over—we had a few chats here and there—every time he would pass me with his entourage over the next few days, he would always come, shake my hand again, have a chat, and whisper in my ear, ‘Platon, make me look good.’ So I was kind of brainwashed by Mr. Netanyahu, that when it came to the editing process, I found myself making him look good.” Did Platon succeed? You be the judge.

Portraits of Power [The New Yorker]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.