| | | In today’s newsletter, Ruth Margalit on the surprising ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. And she introduces her deep dive, from this week’s issue, into the talk-show host protecting Benjamin Netanyahu. Plus: • David Remnick on Joe Biden’s warning
• The challenge of leadership during catastrophe
• Donald Trump’s plans to take on the deep state | | | |  The Lede The Shock of a Gaza Ceasefire DealIn Israel, grief and frustration about a long, brutal war is mixed with joy that some hostages may soon return. By Ruth Margalit | | | | | Ruth Margalit
Reporting from Israel In 2019, a billboard bearing the faces of four Israeli journalists went up not far from where I live, in Tel Aviv. How strange, I thought. The caption said, “THEY WON’T DECIDE. YOU DECIDE.” The billboard, it turned out, was a campaign for Likud, the Party led by Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. I was familiar with Netanyahu’s obsession with the press—an obsession that would later result in a criminal indictment, for trying to manipulate coverage. But something about that campaign felt personal. Likud wasn’t calling out Netanyahu’s political opponents, or his well-connected business élites. The Party was targeting a biographer, an investigative reporter, a political commentator, and a legal correspondent. Netanyahu appeared convinced that the Israeli media was a machine working against him. It was only a matter of time before word got out about a counter-operation, performing on Netanyahu’s behalf to promote his interests and tarnish anyone considered a threat. It became known in Israel as the “poison machine.” For many of the government’s critics, the existence of such an orchestrated operation—along with the dysfunction of the center left—helps explain Netanyahu’s astonishing political turnaround since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7th and the devastating war that Israel has waged in Gaza since. One liberal activist asked me, “Can you imagine another country where, after everything we’ve been through, the government not only hasn’t fallen but is stable, with no sign of an opposition?” Who was at the forefront of the poison machine? One name that kept coming up was Yinon Magal. Magal hosts a popular roundtable show on a Netanyahu-friendly network called Channel 14. A self-proclaimed “Bibi-ist,” Magal has described himself as a “vessel” for conveying messages from Netanyahu to the public. And so, at a time of ongoing war, growing international isolation, hostage crisis, and social rupture, I decided to enter the parallel universe of Channel 14—a place where, as one observer put it, “We are winning, and everything is honey.” I started by asking Magal whether we could meet. “Are you with me or against me?” he wrote back, with a winking emoji, and invited me over. The New Yorker upholds the highest standards of reporting, research, and fact checking. Support our journalism by subscribing » | | | | From the News Desk |  The Lede “An Oligarchy Is Taking Shape”In his farewell address, a weary President Biden issues an essential warning. By David Remnick | | | | | Fault Lines The Victims of the L.A. Fires Have Nowhere to TurnIn the age of social media, every politician who has to stand in front of a camera after a tragedy turns into just another battle site in an endless culture war. By Jay Caspian Kang | | | | | | | | The Lede | Reporting and commentary on what you need to know today.  Photograph by Doug Mills / NYT / Redux During Trump’s first term, some executive-branch officials worked against his political aims—which allowed him to frame himself as a victim of government persecution. In his second term, Trump intends to restructure the federal bureaucracy, dismantling the so-called deep state. “To what extent should federal bureaucrats—many of whom may disagree with a particular President—be able to do their jobs insulated and independent from politics?” Jeannie Suk Gersen asks. | | | |  | If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please share it. Was it forwarded to you? Sign up. | | | | | Postscript |  Photograph by Glenn Hunt / Getty David Lynch died today, at the age of seventy-eight. The ingenious writer, director, and artist was known for the TV show “Twin Peaks” and movies such as “Eraserhead,” “Blue Velvet,” and “Mulholland Drive,” and for the mark of inventiveness he made on the culture writ large. In 1999, Tad Friend joined him on set, witnessing Lynch’s creativity at work. Ten years ago, Lynch told Dennis Lim that his films, which have sparked urgent interpretion and theorizing from fans, should leave “room to dream.” In 2021, Howard Fishman wrote that Lynch’s “most uncanny talent” was “an ability to plug into the socket of our collective unconscious, generating sparks that light up the dark of our waking lives, offering glimpses of the great unknown we carry within. Maybe this is a soul; maybe it’s a sense of what lies beyond.” | | | |  | Critics at Large: Series such as “Yellowstone” and “Landman” use classic tropes to depict modern-day concerns, while “American Primeval” frankly reassesses the past. Our critics ask: What do these shows say about our country’s present, and its future? Listen and follow » | | | | | | Fun & Games Dept. | Mini Crossword A Smallish PuzzleSpelling competition: three letters. By Mollie Cowger | | Shouts & Murmurs How to Style Thrifted ClothesTake those designer jeans and lay them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. By Julie Sharbutt | | Daily Cartoon Thursday, January 16th By Ali Solomon | | | | |  | Name Drop: Can you guess the identity of a notable person—contemporary or historical—in six clues? Play a quiz from our archive » | | | | | P.S. Lee Zeldin, the President-elect’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, faced questions from the Senate today. A Trump loyalist, Zeldin is likely to push for slashing conservation regulations, and for reversing many of the Biden Administration’s climate initiatives. “The reality of the public lands is that they are owned by all of us,” Michelle Nijhuis wrote, during Trump’s first term. “Trump may find a way to erase the boundaries established by his predecessors, but he can’t erase the constituencies they inspired.” 🌎 | | | | Hannah Jocelyn contributed to this edition. | | | | | | | |
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