In Christian countries, it’s typical to put things off until ‘after Christmas’ when the new year begins. In Israel, the equivalent is ‘after the festivals’. The Jewish autumn festivals begin with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year followed by Yom Kippur and the eight-day festival of Tabernacles, Sukkot.

Throughout his career, Netanyahu’s talent has been finding people he can blame for restraining him

This year, Israelis cowered in their bomb shelters on 1 October, the day before Rosh Hashanah, when 180 Iranian ballistic missiles rained down on the country.