Everyone Loves Calling Israeli Politicians “Messianic.” Why?

You’ve probably noticed it. There is a word whose use by the media to describe Israel and its government has grown by leaps and bounds in the last years and even in the last months. Here are a few recent examples:

Benjamin Netanyahu has empowered messianic forces for whom the democratic Israel envisaged by the Zionist forefathers is anathema. (Jerusalem Post)

Israel is pursuing the messianic fantasy . . . of a “Greater Israel.” (The Guardian)