I don't know if the last World Cup proved that the Argentina team is the best in the world, but it certainly proved that Leo Messi is the most favorite person on earth.
It's hard to remember the last time that such a large part of humanity - that is, everyone who doesn't speak French or lives in a bunker - wished for the success of one not-so-great man, and was so happy when his prayers were answered.
Affection and popularity are a fascinating puzzle.
In children's fairy tales it is easy to identify who is good and who is bad, and in the confrontation between Judah the Maccabee and Antiochus the Greek has no chance.
This is also what more or less happens in those staged wrestling matches, where it is determined in advance who will be the beloved, all-eyed and heart-touching hero, and who will be the stereotypical ugly and despicable scoundrel who will face him.
But in more complex areas - such as football, politics and life itself - it is difficult to crack the puzzle of sympathy.
In the middle of the last century, the zoologist Desmond Morris wrote a series of books that shocked the world.
For years he observed animals, especially baboons.
Later, when he ran the London Zoo, he began to apply the same zoological view to humans as well.
He asked questions like: Why are some animals in the garden more popular than others?
Why do so many people melt at the sight of bear cubs, and squeal with excitement at the sight of chinchillas, while spiders, for example, elicit completely different emotions from us?
And in short, what makes something "cute"?
Morris's answers were genius in their simplicity.
"Cute" is a natural emotion that arises in us at the sight of things that remind us of a human baby.
Round animals of a size suitable for the embrace of our cradle may arouse more affection in us.
Most of us like mammal puppies more than reptilian offspring.
More fur than scales.
Mouths are rounder and sweeter than jaws and fangs.
that's who we are.
It is nature, evolution and the will of the Creator that shaped us so that we show empathy to everything that reminds us of a baby.
In other words, we identify with and like what reminds us of beloved aspects of ourselves.
You can easily understand why.
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For many Israelis, the founding World Cup took place in 1974.
One World Cup earlier our national team even participated, but in '74, even without participating, the State of Israel was just as emotionally involved.
"Our" team was the Netherlands of Johan Cruyff, Niskens and Hahn.
I was a child then, and no one gave explanations, but it was clear that we were all Dutch.
In the famous skit "Offside Story", the pale tracker accurately described the phenomenon.
The judge, Sheika Levy, wonders why today's young man is not doing anything useful with his life, and only learns "like a donkey, that the Dutch national team consists of Surbeer, Hahn, Van Hahnem, Jungbloed and De Jong, a central striker".
The truth was that we knew both the skit and the Dutch composition by heart.
In the satirical program "Cleaning the Head" they fabricated an excellent segment in which they proved, so to speak, that Cruyff, the superstar, was actually a kosher Jew.
When Holland lost in the final to West Germany, a heavy weight fell between her fence and her room.
The team we loved lost to the one we hated with all our hearts.
Israelis of Dutch origin did not quite understand what was happening here.
Some of them were taken aback by the sudden affection for Holland, and Mr. ten-Brink was quite taken aback.
They remembered what happened during the Holocaust, and they did not have too many good words for the Dutch people in this context.
And not only because of Anne Frank.
But the criticism did not move anyone.
We liked the Dutch, because one year before, during the Yom Kippur War, the Netherlands agreed to sell jet fuel to Israel and pretty much saved the situation.
And some of us loved them thanks to the volunteers in the kibbutzim.
Mostly the volunteers, to be honest.
And we loved the Dutch because we simply loved them.
go figure.
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In the last few days I met some Argentine Israelis.
Nowadays they are mainly Israelis.
During the World Cup they are completely Argentina.
They hardly have a single good word to say about the country where they were born.
On good days they despise her.
the governmental corruption and fascism.
the association with international terrorist organizations and war criminals, and the shameful cover-up of the massacres in the Jewish community building in Buenos Aires.
These days some of them don't like football at all.
But something strange happens to them, and to us a little too, when the Argentine national team takes the field with their blue and white striped uniforms.
Something even stranger happened when Messi lifted the trophy.
These guys couldn't say the word "Argentina" without their throats choking on tears.
And yet they repeated it as if in a crazy prayer.
It may be worth studying and delving into this mystery, because there is tremendous human energy here.
And as in any case of bursting energy, this too can bring a great blessing, and it can wreak havoc.
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Needless to say, when it comes to learning and delving into the mystery of sympathy, our Palestinian neighbors have made us a school.
My friend Shmuel Nahon, a campaigner and mass consciousness expert, reviewed from the beginning of the World Cup the elaborate campaign during which every spectator who entered the stadium received cool accessories such as a hat, a simple bracelet or a flag.
Things you can do with happy.
be photographed.
to present Arab nationalism as cool.
One image of Leo Messi waving a trophy while wrapped in a traditional Arab robe, managed to crush countless justified protests against the blood crimes and bribery that the celebration in Qatar was about.
While Israel chooses to conduct its propaganda through sweaty arguments like "no country would allow them to do (fill in the blank)", the Qataris and the Palestinians simply established a photogenic and cool trend.
A trend that may seem clumsy and empty of content, but it deeply understands the tremendous cognitive power of this thing called "coolness".
One thing is for sure, corruption is a very uncool thing.
Also a violation of human rights.
But campaigns that engage in mind engineering through the worlds of glitter and cool are not interested in in-depth clarification of issues, but in photo opportunities, free cupcakes and party favors.
By the way, just recently here, in the Middle East, dozens of armed men entered the intensive care unit of a hospital and kidnapped a patient from his bed.
Not cool and not cool at all.
They did it for one reason: to trade her body with the Israeli government.
If you ask me, it's very, very uncool to trade bodies.
Since the person they kidnapped was not Jewish, they proved by their actions that they do not really believe that Israel is an apartheid state.
She will also do everything to bring home, or for burial, a citizen who is a Druze.
That is, Arab.
Pretty noble, if you ask me.
Apparently, with his sons kidnapping patients from intensive care in order to trade their bodies, he could not show his face in public.
Not in the same month.
Certainly not to market itself to the world as a cool brand.
The fact is, that's exactly what they did.
And yes, if Israel wanted to launch an effective campaign just from this event, it would not have had to put in much effort.
Everything was laid out before her eyes, just to reach out and collect.
The point is that all the informational energies in Israel are invested in internal political defamation.
Delegitimization?
Decoolization?
We make sure to do this only within the family.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
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