Joseph L Korson
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23 hours ago
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Bibi Lost My Vote and It’s Personal.
Some of you know that I served as Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal chef at the Prime Minister’s Residence for over five and a half years. 2015-2020
Bibi was something of a hero to me. When I was offered the position, I considered it an enormous honor.
I still remember my first meeting with him. He gave me one simple instruction:
“Take care of my family.”
That became my mission. I carried it out with humility, loyalty, and integrity, every single day.
I remember the countless Shabbats and holidays I spent looking after his family instead of being with my own. The more than 5,000 hours of overtime I worked and was never paid for. The long days, the late nights, the endless demands, and the responsibility of being there whenever I was needed.
I was there through it all.
From the extraordinary days of secret diplomacy leading toward the Abraham Accords to the darkest days of the investigations, when I was the only member of staff permitted inside the residence during the police interrogations.
I was there for elections, crises, celebrations, and everything in between. A steady presence, quietly doing my job.
I looked after the entire family. Making chicken soup when someone was ill. Baking cookies for the boys to take back to the army. Remembering what everyone liked, what they needed, and how to make their lives just a little easier.
These may seem like small things. To me, they were the essence of my duty.
I gave that family everything I had, often at considerable personal cost. I know I performed my duties far beyond what was expected of me, and I believe everyone in that house knew it.
Eventually, financial pressure and sheer exhaustion forced me to leave.
After five and a half years, I had just one expectation.
A letter of recommendation.
Not a bonus. Not a favor. Not some grand gesture of gratitude.
A simple letter acknowledging the years of loyal service I had given.
I never received it.
Not even a proper thank you.
It might sound trivial to some. To me, it was a profound personal betrayal.
I could find no legitimate reason for refusing such a simple request. I came to believe that my departure itself was being held against me, as though leaving after years of devotion was somehow an act of disloyalty.
That experience forced me to reconsider much of what I had accepted during my years of service.
I began to see how much I had given, how much I had sacrificed, and how little consideration there seemed to be for the person behind the job.
I had been useful. Indispensable, even, at times.
Once I was no longer there to serve, I felt I had ceased to matter.
That realization hurt far more than the missing letter.
For years, I had admired the man. I had served him and his family with genuine affection and loyalty. I had believed that loyalty meant something beyond the immediate usefulness of the person giving it.
Apparently, I was mistaken.
People can debate Netanyahu’s politics, his achievements, his failures, and his legacy. There are certainly plenty of reasons to support or oppose him.
Mine is much simpler.
I knew the man not from television, speeches, or election campaigns, but from inside his home. I saw him and his family in moments the public never sees. I gave them years of my life, including time I could never recover with my own children.
When I finally needed one small acknowledgment of that service, it never came.
Bibi lost my vote not because of a political disagreement, but because of a personal betrayal.
Five and a half years of loyalty. Thousands of unpaid hours. Hundreds of Shabbats and holidays. A thousand small acts of care.
Yet, not even a signature on a piece of paper.
That told me more than any political speech ever could.
Fuck you very much, Bibi and Sara.
It was a hoot.
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Comments
Tamar Kohn
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Thanks for sharing🙌 unfortunately, not surprised… Sorry you had to go through that…
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Joseph L Korson
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Thank you for the mostly supportive and thoughtful comments on my post.
To those who were less supportive, and particularly those who responded with cynicism or outright nastiness, I think you may have misunderstood why I wrote it.
I could take apart the record and agenda of virtually any Israeli politician. That was never my intention. I wanted to go beyond politics and speak about something far more fundamental: the character of a man I knew personally and served faithfully for over five years.
This was never about a letter, recognition, or a pat on the back. Those who reduced it to that missed the point entirely.
It was about integrity, trust, compassion, and the responsibility that comes with leadership.
If a leader cannot protect and stand by even the least powerful of those closest to him, how can we entrust him with responsibility for an entire nation?
That is the question I wanted people to consider. Not as a political argument, but as a deeply personal reflection on the relationship between power, loyalty, and moral responsibility.
As for those who have shared my post simply to fuel their own hatred or political animosity, I will leave their comments where they are. They illustrate a contrast worth observing: the difference between a personal account born of lived experience and the detached hostility of people who see everything through the narrow lens of political allegiance.
I did not write out of hatred, nor was I seeking sympathy. I wrote because I believe character matters, particularly in those entrusted with the lives and futures of others.
We can disagree profoundly about politics without abandoning our humanity.
That, more than anything, was the point of my post.
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Kristin Camille Chez
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I simply cannot imagine taking you for granted. You are still regularly featured in my stories of my time spent in Israel.
For others reading on, Joseph fed and served my fellow students and I when we studied abroad in Israel many moons ago (almost 16 years ago now.) I still remember him and his impact on my time there with great fondness and appreciation. He endeavored to provide us with more than just our meals, but multiple experiences that allowed us to truly know the country, its people, and ultimately even our creator better. He shared the greatest parts of Israel, himself and even his own mother with our class.
Joseph, I am so sorry to hear that your leadership has failed to appreciate your service to them, but know, it has not, nor will it ever go unappreciated in my home. Thank you, on behalf of all of us.
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Vicken Boghossian
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Treat others how you wanna be treated. Says a lot about his character, good luck with your future.
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Mousa Shaker
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Do not look back at a house you have left.
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Alisa Kline
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Thanks for sharing.
Your unfortunate experience is important for those voting to consider.Good character is the core of a per… See more
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Ravi Lockyer
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highly revealing - his perspective is people are there to be either used or abused
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Larry Ramer
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Maybe if Israel was like Switzerland or Singapore we could vote based on who's nice and who's not. … See more
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Mark Liner
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Nobody is perfect. Perhaps there was too much salt in the chicken soup. That can never be forgiven.
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Alan Handschin
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oh, is a positive letter not standard in Israel if one changes jobs?
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Gil 'Bobby' Levi-Stern
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He posted nothing when Ada Yonat died, but posted when Sheffi Paz died. It tells everything one needs to know about him...
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Eli Etsion
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You have put in writing your personal experience with the family, yet you managed to capture the essence of the ugliness that … See more
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Keith Wainstein
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I seriously don’t think you need a letter , your character says it all , you seem to me like an amazing sensitive person , you… See more
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Sou Maya Micha Ke
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So you agree with his political stance ?
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Dmitry Rubinstein
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So nothing moved you, not the corruption, not the division he sawed - only the missing letter of recommendation? Not great.
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Laure Samori
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Is this a joke?
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