When I was a schoolboy, on the rare occasions I was required to line up against the wall to be picked for a football team, I would be picked last. It was fair enough: my abilities matched my interest level – zero. Not much has changed in the intervening decades, and thanks to my lack of any real knowledge or ability in the game, I would be most unlikely to comment on the World Cup or the Euros. But when it comes to coverage of Israel and the Middle East, I’ve spent enough time on the ground amassing knowledge, sources, and experience that this publication entrusts me to explain it to others.
Now, if I were a football expert – I don’t know, let’s say the BBC’s highest-paid presenter – I might apply the same logic in reverse: talk as much as I like about the game, but steer clear of discussions of Israel and the Middle East.
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