The Monocle Minute

This week’s decision by Benjamin Netanyahu to sack his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, was as reckless as we’ve come to expect from Israel’s prime minister. It wasn’t based on job performance; Netanyahu’s motivation was simply personal rivalry and an insatiable desire to stay in power. This was his third attempt to get rid of Gallant and showed his disregard for the country’s security and wellbeing. Months before the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, Gallant was fired after he warned Netanyahu that the judicial coup that he was presiding over was weakening Israel’s preparedness for future threats. After an intense public outcry, the prime minister was forced to reinstate Gallant. Protests have similarly erupted this time round. Fires were lit on the Ayalon Highway, while a group representing the families of those taken hostage by Hamas called the dismissal a “torpedo” to a release deal.

Gallant was one of the few people within the far-right Israeli government who was guided by professional considerations. Long considered a thorn in the prime minister’s side, he posed multiple challenges to Netanyahu. He supported a pause in hostilities with Hamas to facilitate the return of the hostages. He opposed legislation that would exempt ultra-Orthodox youth from serving in the military. He demanded an independent inquiry on Israel’s failure to prevent the Hamas attack. And he stood against Netanyahu’s policy on judicial reform.

For Netanyahu, who will be forced to give evidence in his corruption trial in less than a month, each of these issues poses a threat to the survival of his coalition. To protect himself, he couldn’t afford to leave Gallant in a position of power. By bringing Gideon Sa’ar and his small political faction into the coalition, the prime minister seems to have calculated that he could go for the jugular and get rid of a rival who is more popular than he is. He also must believe that he can appease his delusional, messianic partners by keeping the conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran going “until victory”. The losers in all of this are ordinary Israelis whose security and prosperity Netanyahu is prepared to sacrifice. But for him, that’s a small price to pay to stay in power – and out of jail.

Yossi Mekelberg is an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force plans to debut an advanced fighter jet, the J-35A, at an airshow in Zhuhai next week (from 12 to 17 November). Its unveiling will follow a major restructuring of China’s military that Xi Jinping ordered in April, an effort to prepare the nation’s forces for the “intelligentised warfare” of the future. The J-35A will be showcased alongside the H-19 surface-to-air missile system and new unmanned aerial vehicles. The upgraded arsenal is widely viewed as Beijing’s bid to match the aerial prowess of the US.

China has been repeatedly accused of stealing US stealth-fighter technology to develop its fleet – allegations that it has denied. The J-35A stealth fighter is designed to evade detection and reportedly adds augmented air-combat and air-to-surface attack capabilities to Beijing’s existing fleet of J-20 stealth fighters. The latter has been operational since 2017 and is estimated to number about 195 aircraft. The state of the country’s evolving arsenal and its implications for security in the region should become clearer when the J-35A takes to the skies next week.

Luxury groups such as Chanel and LVMH are investing heavily in craft in order to safeguard their futures, whether by acquiring artisan workshops or spearheading a variety of Métiers d’Arts programmes. Switzerland-based Richemont, which owns the likes of Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier, is making its own contribution with the launch of Via Arno, a new start-up connecting independent artisans with buyers and aiming to highlight “the beauty and spirit of human making”. The craftspeople involved, who range from candle makers to jewellers and woodworkers, create custom-made or fully bespoke pieces.

Their works were presented at Via Arno’s inaugural pop-up shop, which was opened at Homo Faber in Venice this summer, and will soon be available online too. But don’t expect speedy deliveries and seasonal products. Via Arno isn’t hoping to become the next Etsy. Instead, it will largely target a B2B audience, including design firms and architects seeking to furnish homes and offices with unique pieces. “If you want to hit a certain level of excellence, it’s a much smaller crowd,” says Annia Spiliopoulos, its co-founder and CEO.

For more on Via Arno, pick up a copy of Monocle’sNovember issue, which is out now.

Innovation researcher Bernd Ebersberger is the mind behind Future Flip Book, a creativity tool designed to spark ideas by helping users to come up with word combinations that align with their goals. Here, he tells The Monocle Minute about his inspirations and the importance of being playful.

Where did the idea for ‘Future Flip Book’ come from?
It was an academic side-project inspired by other flipbooks that I’d seen, in which you could combine pieces of sentences to form love messages. These books could create positive affirmations out of various bits of text. I intuited that we could use that for innovation and idea generation.

How does it work?
Just sit down with the flipbook somewhere comfortable, resist the urge to doom scroll, let inspiration arrive and then enjoy your own creativity. You can also use it in a team setting, in workshops or in classrooms of all ages.

What do you hope people will take away from the book?
That creativity is always in the mind of the user and it can be playful. Innovation shouldn’t be seen as scary but as something that you can play around with.

For our full interview with Ebersberger, tune in to the latest ‘Eureka’ edition of ‘The Entrepreneurs’ on Monocle Radio.

We head to Sweden, the home of cinnamon buns, or ‘kanelbullar’, to meet award winning home-cook Lina Walstrom. Monocle’s Tamara Thiessen heads to meet her in Vaxholm to learn how to make this staple Swedish treat.