Watching the live broadcasts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Thursday afternoon) and Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Tuesday afternoon) simultaneously illustrated the generation gap.
About 18 minutes of Netanyahu, in the role of the responsible, well-dressed, planned adult, who even on live broadcast passes the screen as if he had been given precise directing instructions, compared to 15 minutes of Bennett in the spontaneous, sweaty, free-spirited role.
The closeness of the broadcasts, and their nature - immediate response to users' questions, via live broadcasts on Facebook, intrigued me.
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22 years separate Netanyahu and Bennett. Also: There are differences in status and perhaps even in security arrangements. Someone from the Prime Minister's Office once explained to me that Netanyahu cannot just connect to a cell phone, due to security considerations.
I don't know if this is true or an excuse, but still, the video products of both of them are very far apart.
>Link to Netanyahu's video chat
It should be noted: This is the second time he has hosted a broadcast of this type and answered questions from surfers.
Broadcast invitation status, with a Mac (cooler)
Here are some diagnoses:
Netanyahu posted a teaser photo inviting netizens to ask questions. Lee YA huge criticism For not being Holds press conferences,Not being interviewed, does not talk to the media as he should in a democratic country - but I will put that matter aside for a moment. The above chat is not a substitute for journalism.
The photo of the chat invitation was taken with a Mac computer on the table. Then, in a live video, Netanyahu read questions from a display on another computer, apparently a physical one.
Where did the Mac go? Maybe the Mac was placed on a tripod across the street and Netanyahu was photographed from inside it? Anyone can tell that these are two different computers. Maybe only Netanyahu didn't notice that in the chat invitation picture he is sitting with a cool, modern computer, but doesn't really use it afterwards?
Another point: During the chat, Netanyahu hardly touches the computer. Every minute, he lightly flicks the keyboard arrows (I guess this from where he placed his hand). However, except for the arrows, the laptop is foreign and alien to Netanyahu. He has no fondness for computers and gadgets, this, by the way, has already been published in the past. But you can always see it again: Netanyahu does not connect to the devices of the new world.
Incidentally, Trump tweeted this week that implied that the fact that Hillary Clinton doesn't know how to send emails shows that she is unfit to lead the American economy ("she endangers the country"). In the past, it has been implied that she lacks knowledge of computers/devices.
Clinton is 68, Netanyahu is 66, Trump is 70. Age is sometimes used as an explanation for the inability to use modern tools, understand emails, Facebook, computers, etc.
And back to Netanyahu's chat: As mentioned, he is dressed, air-conditioned, and planned. At the end of the video, he gets up and walks around the office, showing the surfers the missile display, the ancient one versus the modern one, the one that attacked Israel versus the one that protects us.
This isn't just a web chat, it's a short feature film. There's a director, there's a producer, and there's marketers. It's clear that the questions were carefully chosen (Bennett, later on, also chooses the questions he wants, there's nothing new in that).
And after listening to the entire plot, only two things (in terms of content) caught my attention:
The one - A direct appeal to the public: "Help me a little" regarding leading constitutional reforms. One of the surfers asked Netanyahu about establishing a two-party political system - and Netanyahu replied: "We established a ministerial committee, because I insisted on it in the coalition agreement. It causes difficulties, help me a little. There is no need to put pressure on me, help there (meaning among the other parties), because Israel's political system needs to be changed.".
Okay, so he said.
Netanyahu has been promising changes to the electoral system for many years. More Promises that cannot be fulfilled By their side.
And the second - Netanyahu was asked what book he was reading and replied: "Industries of the Future.".
Assuming it's a book The Industries of the Future, It is surprising to hear that Netanyahu is connecting with Alec Ross, one of Obama's senior staff members, who accompanied him in the 2008 campaign, and later led the State Department's New Media Division.
Alec Ross even visited Israel a few years ago and presented here Innovative approaches in the field of new media On diplomatic issues and foreign relations. I was then invited by the American embassy to meet and hear him, it was interesting.
The 44-year-old politician feels much more comfortable with his mobile phone. Who needs a laptop or a desk or good lighting anyway? He pulls out the device, connects with the headset and isn't really bothered by how it looks - and chats with surfers while he's on the go.
He looks at the questions himself, chooses what to answer, and manages everything on his own.
Twice during the trip, Bennett turns the camera towards Danny the driver ("the best civil servant there is") to answer questions on his Facebook wall about whether he is driving and being interviewed at the same time.
No, of course not.
There's something disconcerting about the video at first, with Bennett moving around in the car while squinting into the camera for a selfie.
Bennett's discussion is dynamic and bouncy, but he is received no less eloquently than Netanyahu's.
No one needs to turn on his devices, place him in front of a camera, or plan a guided tour of the office.
Bennett's backdrop is ironed shirts hanging in the back of the car and the scenery passing by in the side window. Sometimes Bennett squints into the camera, and occasionally misses himself in the frame, but most of the time the conversation is focused and effective.
At the end of the conversation, he suggests to the surfers – give me advice on how to photograph it a little better. For next time.
Bennett takes advantage of the 'hole' in the schedule - the car travel time.
Most politicians (who have drivers) talk on the phone on the road with activists, journalists, and their staff. This is an efficient use of time.
Bennett addresses surfers during a live chat on Facebook
Danny the Driver Live in Bennett's Chat
As for the content, I couldn't miss that, like Netanyahu above, Bennett is asking for help from the surfers.
"When will you annex the territories?" asks one of the surfers.
Bennett replies: "I only have eight seats. If you organize your friends to support the Jewish Home and we have 30 seats, then I can bring to light the policy of annexing the territories.".
"When will you be prime minister?" - Bennett reads out the question from one of the surfers (remember, he chooses the questions himself).
And he replies: "It depends on the public, when the public elects me, then it will happen.".
