The elegant lady sitting next to me on the sofa, waiting for her turn at the local hairdresser in center Tel Aviv, was telling how the night before Bibi had called her. Or, to put it more specifically, she in person — Hanna, who was sitting by my side at the hairdresser — received a call from none other than [Israeli] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His voice on the other end was deep as ever and conveyed familiarity, heart-warming against the fierce winter storm raging outside her window.

“Hello, it’s Benjamin Netanyahu speaking,” the voice introduced himself, to her astonishment, going on without pausing: “I am appealing to you, asking for your support in my campaign. Please, give me the strength to go on leading the State of Israel and coping with the challenges facing us.”

Excited, Hanna was about to respond positively and perhaps even exchange a few words with the prime minister. However, before she managed to utter a word, “Bibi” was gone off the line and another anonymous voice courteously asked those in favor of Netanyahu to click the button one. The well-groomed lady, who has been a staunch Likud supporter ever since she could remember, realized with some disappointment that what she had just heard was a recorded message and that Bibi was most likely busy at that moment attending to other matters. Still, she was telling herself, it is nice on the part of the prime minister to give her a call — all the more so in these hectic days, so full of challenges.

Since she does not have to be persuaded, as she believes that Netanyahu is the only one capable of leading the state of Israel, she automatically pressed the No. 1 button. Once she did so, a world of possibilities opened up before her — a whole range of volunteering activities on behalf of the Likud that she could opt for. However, at that point, Hannah opted out. She already had grandchildren, she said, and with all due respect, she would rather leave volunteering activity to the younger generation.