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Monday, January 3, 2011

Is Netanyahu a little boy or a parody of himself?

Benjamin Netanyahu, Argh!
Photo Credit: Donkey Hotey


I know what you're thinking: the gray hair, the wrinkles, the suit.  But if you take a look at the way Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu interacts with the media, you might think he was a little boy. Either that, or he's a complete parody of himself. I can't decide.

Photo Credit: HuffPost


Let's take a closer look and examine...

The Evidence

Exhibit A) Can't say "I'm sorry".
Everyone knows that killing and war is bad and peace and compromise is good, but sometimes bad things happen. What happened with Turkey and the flotilla, may have been avoidable, or it may not.  But the bottom line is that 9 people died, the Turks got really mad, and the rest of the world also seemed pretty upset. Now the Turks want an apology. But noooooooooooo.  That would be far too mature.

Exhibit B) Can't take responsibility.
It was less than a month ago that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman took the opportunity to smear Turkey, the PA and the Prime Minister Netanyahu himself, and Netanyahu didn't do much to stop or admonish him.

Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer criticized Lieberman, saying he should not be representing the government. Speaking to Israel Radio, Ben-Eliezer said that Netanyahu should stop Lieberman from publicly expressing opinions which are not those of the government.

Also speaking Monday, opposition leader Tzipi Livni said that Netanyahu is not correct in saying that the foreign minister does not represent the government's position. Rather, she said, Netanyahu is responsible for Lieberman. (S
ource)


Exhibit C) Loves to play the blame game.
It's never his fault that things work out.  In fact, if you ask Netanyahu, Israel has done absolutely everything right when it comes to the peace process. It's the PA and White House that keep playing games and messing things up.

"The government, in my leadership, is striving to achieve peace. This is our target and objective – to reach an agreement in negotiations with the Palestinians," Netanyahu said Thursday. "Unfortunately, the Palestinians have thus far been evading negotiations." (Source)


Netanyahu said that contrary to what was reported, "I told Obama that I am prepared to go with this to the cabinet and that I will be able to enforce [the settlement freeze], but then I received the surprising phone call from the Americans who said they no longer demand that Israel extends the freeze." (Source)


Exhibit D) Always looks really weird on TV and in interviews...like he's made of rubber or something.
Is it just me? Check him out on Bill Mahr in 2006, and now look at him on Larry King Live in 2010.  Is this really him, or is it a parody of him? Or is it a little boy comedian in a Netanyahu suit? I seriously can't tell.

Photo Credit: John Springs for  The New York Review of Books


Members of the jury.... I leave it to you to decide!

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