Writers aren’t the only profession whose members believe that we (the public) require their opinions about matters that are totally unrelated to their expertise. But at least, on the average, they’re more intelligent and have more interesting things to say than actors.

Herzl was a playwright, and Yehoshua quipped that “perhaps, if he would [have been] more successful with his plays maybe we would have no Zionism [today].”

Right, but Herzl was a man of letters – a journalist, lawyer, playwright – who had a certain interest in all the major issues of his day. And it was in Paris as a correspondent for the Neue Freie Presse that he covered the Dreyfus Affair. His literary ambition and involvement led him directly to Zionism.

By the way, he was also considered very good-looking, so maybe if he’d been an underwear model we wouldn’t have Zionism. Too bad we’ll never know.