When Benn didn't meet Benjamin

The greatest pro-war orator of all time, Hilary Benn, appears to have been snubbed by Bibi during a visit to occcupied Palestine.  Here's the Jewish Chronicle's report:

Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn made a low-profile visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories this week.

Accompanied by a political adviser, he landed at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv on Monday morning for the start of the three-day tour.

Mr Benn - who avoided press interviews during the trip - started by travelling to east Jerusalem with the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. On Tuesday, he laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum.

Mr Benn had a series of private meetings with senior Knesset members and Palestinian Authority representatives.

He met PA president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and discussed settlements and a two-state solution.

So he met everyone who's anyone under the entity's rule with one fairly important exception:

It is thought many of his meetings were set up while on the road in Israel, with a late request to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unable to be scheduled.

It's not known if he put in a similar "I was in the neighbourhood so I thought I'd pop by" request to Hamas but I'm guessing he didn't. In fact, taking his penchant for both Israel and for the UK's wars in the middle east, Mr Benn appears to be touting himself as a chip off the Blairite rather than the Bennite block. Maybe they'll make Benn a peace envoy one day but I am surprised Bibi couldn't or wouldn't make time for him.

Netanyahu the historian?

Apparently Bibi's dad was a historian. That's according to Anschel Pfeffer in today's Jewish Chronicle. Look:

According to Mr Netanyahu - whose father was a lauded historian - Hitler asked Al-Husseini: "What should I do with them [the Jews]?" He replied: "Burn them."

 I don't know if Netanyahu Senior was a zionist "historian" or a historian who happened to be a zionist but clearly Netanyahu Junior is no historian.

But then Aschel Pfeffer is no historian either.  Watch how he stumbles into no-shit-Sherlock territory:

Some commentators said that Mr Netanyahu's words revealed either that he sees the conflict between Israel and its immediate neighbours as a continuation of the Holocaust, or that he is prepared to manipulate history for political purposes.

Wow, there's an insight.  Zionist leaders play the holocaust card for political advantage.

Norman Finkelstein's The Holocaust Industry is available in good bookshops, at least it was several years ago. It might of interest to wannabe historians like Netanyahu Junior and Anschel Pfeffer.

Bibi: not just a Zionist Revisionist, he's a Holocaust Revisionist too

Bibi Netanyahu has made a complete dick of himself again.   Addressing the World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem he said that Hitler had no plans for the holocaust until that British invention, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, persuaded him to carry it out.  Here's Marcus Dysch in The Jewish Chronicle:

Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed Hitler only decided to carry out the Final Solution after being convinced by a Palestinian leader.

Speaking at the World Jewish Congress, the Israeli Prime Minister said the plan to exterminate European Jews was developed after the Nazi leader met the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini.

Of course being written by Marcus Dysch they had to get something wrong. It wasn't the World Jewish Congress Bibi was addressing, it was the World Zionist Congress. Anyone would think that the JC uses the words Jewish and Zionist interchangeably.

Bibi goes where he's invited and where he's not invited

And not only that, this racist war criminal claims to speak for all Jews.

Here's Ha'aretz:

Netanyahu: I will go to Congress like I went to Paris – to speak for all Jews

Prime minister says he will go anyplace he is invited to convey Israel's position on Iran

Obviously claiming that one or some Jews speak for all Jews is antisemitic but there's another issue here.  It seems like only yesterday that Bibi turned up in Paris for an electioneering junket in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack in spite of being asked by the French president not to go.  Again here's Ha'aretz:

Hollande asked Netanyahu not to attend Paris memorial march

Absence sought as part of attempt to keep Israeli-Palestinian conflict out of European show of unity; After Netanyahu insisted on coming, French made it clear Abbas would be invited as well.

The man's utterly shameless.

Even Foxman tells Bibi to stop being a clown

From The Forward yesterday:

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti Defamation League said that the political uproar ignited by Netanyahu’s invitation to speak to a joint meeting of Congress makes such a move unhelpful and therefore it should be scrapped.

“It’s a tragedy of unintended consequences,” Foxman told the Forward, describing how the idea of presenting Israel’s view on Iran spiraled out of control, reaching even the Jon Stewart show, a step, Foxman said, that “turned the whole thing into a circus.”

And what did Jon Stewart say?  Here's Vox.com

"One of our closest foreign allies is taking sides with Republicans against a Democratic president, which creates a major conundrum for Democrats," Stewart said. "I'm reminded of a similar situation, faced by an Israeli king renowned for his wisdom."

Stewart also laid into the Obama administration's excuse for not meeting with Netanyahu when he visits — that the president didn't want to be seen as "meddling" in Israeli politics (Israel's elections are two weeks after the March 3 speech).

"Yes, yes!" Stewart said. "America doesn't wanna meddle in a Middle Eastern nation's domestic politics. I mean, we don't do that!"

He then ran through a list of nearby countries America has, in fact, meddled with: Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey.

"Unless, obviously, a country wanted to nationalize its own oil industry, or looked likely to ally with a rival superpower, or was fighting a proxy war against some other country we didn't like, or would let us put military bases in their country, or send prisoners to their country, or was next to a country we wanted to spy on, or fight with."

"But aside from these very rare instances," Stewart concluded, "we do not meddle with Middle Eastern nations."

I don't know what Foxman's beef is. Between Congress and the White House who'd notice another clown?

Likud Bad, Labor worse

Here's an article by Gideon Levy in Ha'aretz liberated from the paywall:

A Labor win will only entrench the occupation

On the most fateful issue, another term for Netanyahu would be a disaster, but a victory for Zionist Camp could be a worse disaster.

By Gideon Levy 03:15 01.02.15

Only one scenario is worse than the reelection on March 17 of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister, and that’s the election of Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog (and his political partner Tzipi Livni). Another term for Netanyahu would be a disaster, but a victory for Zionist Camp could be a worse disaster.

Yes, it’s true there’s no comparison between Herzog and Netanyahu — or between their parties. Herzog is a moderate, modest, fair person who’s much more liked than Netanyahu; the same can be said for Livni.

And Zionist Camp’s Knesset slate is of much higher quality than Likud’s. Not only does Zionist Camp not have thugs like Likud, it doesn’t have people with nationalist and racist views inciting and agitating. The CVs of most Zionist Camp candidates are much more impressive.

Now let’s assume Zionist Camp wins. Jubilation; Netanyahu will be ousted and a new day will dawn in Israel with a Herzog-Livni government. Actually, the first and most dramatic change will come from abroad — a global sigh of relief.

Not a statesman around the world will be sorry to see Netanyahu go, other than maybe Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah and Khaled Meshal of Hamas. All will be pleased with the victory of the “moderates.” The world will applaud, Herzog will be invited to Washington and Livni to London — and vice versa.

And soon, as promised, the “diplomatic process,” not to say the “peace process,” will begin. Herzog will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Livni with Palestinian leader Ahmed Qurei in a series of moving photo-ops. The cheering around the world will grow louder.

This change will be happening just as it appears the world has had its fill of Israeli policy, of Israel thumbing its nose at international law, the United States and the across-the-board opposition around the world to a continuation of the occupation.

And just when it appears that sanctions against Israel — the only nonviolent way to push the country to leave the territories — are about to be introduced — then of all times Israel will be applauded. There will be no prospect of action at The Hague or at the UN Security Council, no pressure and no punishment. Quiet, they’re talking — those sacred negotiations are in progress.

Those negotiations will, of course, go on endlessly unless this time Abbas refuses to lend a hand to the farce. Herzog has already announced that he will devote five (!) years to negotiations that could be wrapped up in five weeks. In other words, Herzog has no intention of reaching an agreement. Over those five years, the world won’t put on pressure; the two sides are talking.

The occupation will become even more entrenched. Herzog has said his government will continue to build in the “settlement blocs.” And the last chance for a two-state solution — if it still exists — will be squandered. Herzog and Livni will delude the world and perhaps the Palestinians too. Those two will never achieve a just agreement.

This scenario need not surprise anyone. Herzog is at the helm of Israel’s party of occupation. The Labor Party is the founding mother of the settlement enterprise; it never considered stopping it.

Its historical responsibility for the occupation is greater than Likud’s. The Labor troika of Golda Meir, Yisrael Galili and Moshe Dayan founded it, Shimon Peres continued it, and Herzog will go down the same path. The occupation is Labor’s cursed hereditary disease, deeply embedded in its genes. Labor might occupy softly while Likud and the religious-nationalist right use violence. So what’s worse?

To some extent, Zionist Camp would halt the anti-democratic legislation, the incitement against the Arabs and maybe also the disgraceful attitude toward African asylum seekers, all of which are matters of the highest importance. But on the most fateful issue, Zionist Camp would do more harm than good. This Israeli peace party would intoxicate the world, which in its despair would again be enticed. If Netanyahu is elected for another term, that won’t happen.

Gideon Levy tweets at @levy_haaretz.com

For cracking the Ha'aretz paywall go here 

What kind of low-life politicises suffering?

The Liberal Democrat MP, David Ward did a couple of tweets referencing the shameless appearance of Bibi Netanyahu at the Paris march after the attack on Charlie Hebdo.  Here they are:

#Netanyahu in Paris march - what!!!! Makes me feel sick
— David Ward (@DavidWardMP) January 11, 2015

Je suis #Palestinian
— David Ward (@DavidWardMP) January 11, 2015

Fairly standard stuff.  Many of us were disgusted at the sheer hypocrisy of this mass killer of civilians attending a march supposedly for the victims of a murderous attack on civilians. I think I might have tweeted about it.  Let me see.

At least #Bibi #Netanyahu's presence in Paris will expose the "anti"-terrorism charade for the sheer hypocrisy that it is. #Gaza
— Jews Sans Frontieres (@jewssf) January 11, 2015

Ah yes, I did.  Twice actually:

Never one to miss a #hasbara opportunity #Bibi heads to Paris http://t.co/RT1TOD6uyS #CharlieHebdo
— Jews Sans Frontieres (@jewssf) January 11, 2015

But of course it wasn't just Bibi's attendance at the march that caused such disgust.  He took the opportunity to call on France's Jews to join him as colonial settlers in occupied Palestine.  This had even some zionists running for cover. 

I searched in vain for the Jewish Chronicle's report on Bibi's disgrace but what I did find was condemnation of David Ward's tweets.

Tweet sents from Mr Ward’s account read: “Netanyahu in Paris march – makes me feel sick. Je suis Palestinian”.

In a letter to deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, ambassador Daniel Taub wrote: “Mr Ward’s statement is a disgraceful attempt to politicise suffering.

“It also exhibits a callous disregard for the Jews of France, many of whom look to Israel as they are increasingly targeted merely because of their religion.

Does Zionising suffering not count as politicising?

Funny Coincidence?

Well I think it's a funny coincidence but did you know that the names Dieudonné and Netanyahu both mean "god given".  Yeah, really.

Look at Behind the Name:

Here's Dieudonné:

DIEUDONNÉ

GENDER: Masculine

USAGE: French

PRONOUNCED: dyuu-do-NAY   [key]

Meaning & History

Means "given by God" in French

But at the same site you have to make two steps to get the meaning of Netanyahu.

Here's Netanyahu:

NETANYAHU

GENDER: Masculine

USAGE: Biblical Hebrew

OTHER SCRIPTS: נְתַנְיָהוּ (Ancient Hebrew)

Meaning & History

Hebrew form of NETHANIAH

Now that's not really telling you much so let's follow the Nethaniah link:

NETHANIAH

GENDER: Masculine

USAGE: Biblical

OTHER SCRIPTS: נְתַנְיָהוּ (Ancient Hebrew)

PRONOUNCED: neth-ə-NIE-ə (English)   [key]

Meaning & History

Means "YAHWEH [ie God] has given" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of Ishmael's father, as well as other minor characters.

So there we have it.  Coincidence?  Well they are two sides of the same coin.

Most Israelis support whatever Netanyahu supports

Here's a ludicrous report in The Jewish Chronicle headed, Majority of Israelis back any peace deal.  Wow! They're so yearning for peace those Israelis.  So what's all this about?

Over 50 per cent of Israelis would support any peace agreement submitted to a referendum by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a recent poll has found.

Out of the 511 participants, 39 per cent said they would be in favour of any plan, 16 per cent said they would probably be in favour and 20 per cent were undecided. Twenty per cent would vote against the plan and 5 per cent would be likely to vote against a plan.

Do you have to look closely to see that the poll is actually about peace per se? It's about whatever peace deal Netanyahu might come up with.

That's presumably not peace according to most people's reckoning. So what's the JC on about? This appears to be one of those zionist briefings where the faithful are being encouraged to promote the zionist "no partners for peace" line.

Beitar consumed with hatred

The arson attack on the Beitar Jerusalem offices over the club's signing of two Chechen Muslims has given Israeli PM, Bibi Netanyahu, the chance to parade the state's anti-racist credentials.  Here's Ha'aretz:

The management offices of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club were torched early Friday morning at its training ground in Bayit Vegan, causing heavy damage. An investigator from the fire department said the fire bore signs of arson.

The Jerusalem fire department received a call at 5 A.M. from a security patrolman who noticed the fire, according to Asaf Abras, a department spokesman.

"Two teams rushed to the scene, where they saw smoke coming through the windows," he said. "They broke in and put out the fire. Some items were collected at the scene and sent to the forensic lab. At this point, we’ve determined that this was arson." The heaviest damage was caused to a room housing trophies, a storage room and some offices.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the suspected arson attack.

"This behavior was shameful," said Netanyahu. "We cannot accept such racist behavior. The Jewish person that has suffered boycotts and expulsions must serve as 'light unto the nations."

The fans of Beitar Jerusalem are a fairly typical example of the State of Israel's brand of enlightenment.

Bibi tells Kerry that Israel is committed to peace

Really, he said that.  See Ha'aretz:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday that Israel's new government will be "committed to peace."

I noticed it via Twitter.  Look:

#Netanyahu tells #Kerry #Israel's new government will be 'committed to peace' htz.li/14JZ5pU
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) February 5, 2013

I couldn't resist replying:

@haaretzcom did #Netanyahu tell #Kerry any other jokes? Mind you #Israel "committed to peace" is a hard one to follow. #hasbara
— Jews Sans Frontieres (@jewssf) February 5, 2013

I don't know why but my reply doesn't appear as part of a conversation. Any Twitter experts out there?

Who won the Israeli elections?

Who cares?

Well, if you do care, you can always check out The Guardian.

Defeated at the UN Israel creates more racist facts on the ground

Lost a war on Gaza, lost a vote at the UN, what's the last of the colonial settler states to do? Build more Jewish only houses and apartments in the West Bank and Jerusalem, that's what.  Here's Chris McGreal at The Guardian:

The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has ordered the construction of thousands of new homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied territories in what will be widely interpreted as retaliation for theUnited Nations vote to recognise a Palestinian state on Thursday.

Israeli officials said the construction would expand existing West Bank settlements and build more homes for Jews in occupied east Jerusalem, where the government is attempting to diminish the proportion of Arab residents. Netanyahu also ordered the speeding up of planning to link Jerusalem with a Jewish settlement, Ma'aleh Adumim, in a move that would cut deep into a future Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. The US and Europe have long asked the Israeli government not to build there.

The US and Europe have long asked the Israeli government not to build there? Well they could always stop funding Israel (US), associating with Israel (EU), providing Israel with diplomatic cover (US/EU). It looks like the tide is turning against Israel but will the EU and US turn against Israel? It will happen one day but not just yet.

Bibi loses 69% of the US Jewish vote

 That's my interpretation of a Jewish Telegraphic Agency post reporting that 69% of American Jews voted for Obama.  But Bradley Burston in Ha'aretz thinks it's not all doom and gloom for Netanyahu:

Netanyahu made little secret of his preference for a Romney victory during the hard-fought U.S. race. Pundits have suggested that an Obama victory could spell retribution for Netanyahu, with a second-term White House free to exact payback on the prime minister as he seeks re-election.

But Netanyahu may believe that he has found a way to use the American election – and Obama - to his advantage.

Running hard for re-election, Netanyahu may have a world to gain, and nothing to lose, by continuing to thumb his nose at the president, and get away with it.

Until late last month, Netanyahu and his Likud party were seen as virtually invincible in his campaign for re-election in the January 22 election. But since stunning his own party faithful by tying the Likud's fate to that of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's secularist Yisrael Beiteinu party in a surprise merger, Netanyahu has lost precious ground in opinion polls, ground he cannot afford to lose.

If the prime minister is to reverse the trend, he will need to appeal to the sectors of his base that appear to be slipping away, in particular potential Likud voters, who describe themselves as religious or traditional in orientation. Polls announced on Israeli television stations on Tuesday pointed the way to a possible Netanyahu strategy based on exploiting Israeli displeasure with, or distaste for, Obama.

Now I don't suppose it makes much difference in terms of governance who wins the Israeli or American elections. I do find it interesting that a clear majority of Jews in the USA weren't swayed by anti-Obama campaigning which revolved around where the two candidates stood on Israel.

ZioNazi?

I've never liked that expression but what else do you call Netanyahu in this pose?



See this from The Jewish Chronicle:

Abraham Foxman, Director of the New York-based hate-monitor the Anti Defamation League, told The Daily Caller. “I think it is ugly, disgusting, offensive.”

I think this is the first time I've ever agree with Abe.

UPDATE (30/9/2012 20:24) with thanks to Deir Yassin in the comments:



A lot of commentators on Netanyahu's appearance, speech and general performance at the UN recently assumed that Bibi doesn't know what he's doing. This picture from Deir Yassin suggests he knows exactly what he's doing.

Bibi Netanyahu: an apology

I really must apologise to Bibi. He is even more stupid than I gave him credit for. His silly cartoon of an Iranian bomb was indeed stupid enough for ridicule without his own "red line" addition. But look at the pic. The bomb is a graph showing where Iran is at with its uranium enrichment, ie, 70%, where it needs to be to have bomb grade stuff, ie, 90% and therefore where the red line needs to be to stop Iran being a nuclear arms capable power. The problem, as the Daily Beast, points out, is that Bibi was left to his own artistic handiwork to draw the dreaded red line. And, look at the pic, he drew it above the weapons grade mark.



So apologies to Bibi. I had him down as a 70 to 90% dick. It turns out he's a complete and utter dick. Will no one in power in the west say that finally he has crossed the line?

Bibi's bombshell blows up in his face

I thought this was a joke when I first saw it but apparently Netanyahu was serious when he unfurled what purported to be Iran's blueprint for the bomb.  Seeing the pic on Times of Israel didn't help me believe it was serious but it is for real after all.



As ToI points out,

Even some supporters of Israel, such as American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, bemoaned Netanyahu’s use of the cartoon.

@JeffreyGoldberg

Jeffrey Goldberg

Okay, it's official: #Netanyahu has no idea what he's doing. He has just turned a serious issue into a joke.

+972 Mag has the responses of various Israeli artists.   Here's my fave:


(Noa Angel)

Elsewhere, The Guardian contained just a hint of the ridicule directed at Bibi:

European officials were sceptical about Netanyahu's argument, comparing it to the infamous illustrated presentation about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction made in 2003 by the then US secretary of state, Colin Powell. "It was like Powell and WMD, but much lower quality graphics," one European diplomat said.

Searching "Netanyahu UN" in Google news, it appears that most of the main players in the US media have done Bibi the favour of ignoring him.  Certainly the LA Times and Fox News have withheld the pic which makes Bibi look so ridiculous.