The announcement that professor Amir Yaron would be the next governor of the Bank of Israel should have been Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon’s big moment in the spotlight. Then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stole the show from him.

Economic reporters were invited to the prime minister’s office Oct. 9 to meet with Netanyahu and Kahlon. They were told that the two men would reveal the name of the next governor of the Bank of Israel. The prime minister could have been nice to the finance minister and allowed him to deliver the news. Instead, Netanyahu stood alone in front of all the cameras to explain why Yaron was chosen for the job.

While Kahlon did speak after Netanyahu, the prime minister later turned the event into his own private press conference. By then, no one remembered the new governor or what Kahlon had said. Netanyahu has stopped giving interviews to the Israeli press, so the journalists were elated to be present at this rare event, in which Netanyahu agreed to answer their questions. All that Kahlon could do was watch in silence as Netanyahu flatly took over all media attention.

Kahlon’s little act of revenge came a few hours later, when he was interviewed for Hadashot TV’s economic show. At that point, he said, “A prime minister under indictment and after a hearing cannot function.” Although he was quoted extensively, there was nothing new in what he said. There was no threat or ultimatum. Kahlon simply tossed out a generic and noncommittal statement, fully aware that the next election will likely take place before Netanyahu is indicted — if he is indicted at all.