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Posts Tagged ‘danny ayalon’

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Twitter and Winning the Online War for Israel

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
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Those valiant hasbara honchos in the Israeli foreign ministry are fighting the good fight on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people.  First, Danny Ayalon stood up to the Turkish ambassador by seating him on a kiddie chair and showing how to humiliate a true enemy of Israel.  Then Danny stiffed a U.S. Congress delegation, making clear that he’d have nothing to do with those anti-Israel, so-called Jews in J Street.  Next, to show Israel in a truly constructive light as a center of hot sex in the Middle East–the MFA, Canadian Jewish pro-Israel donors, and the Israel lobby funded a thrilling video that proffered oral sex in return for traveling to the land of hot beaches and bronzed bodies that is Israel.

Yuli Edelstein, settler, and minister of the newly created Hasbara (I kid you not) Ministry, created a devilishly witty website which makes fun of foreign journalists telling their audiences back home that the IDF uses camels to haul their ammunition and that standards of civilization are somewhere in the late 19th century.  He’s also deputized Israeli tourists and, why the hell not, the entire Jewish people to be ambassadors of hasbarist good will on Israel’s behalf.  I tell you, as a good Zionist, it just makes my heart pound and my body tingle.  We’re finally getting out the message.  With this, it won’t be long before we win this damn propaganda war with the dark Arab hordes.  Then Israel will stand with its foot atop the neck of those damn Palestinians, as it should be.

Now, Danny and his friends in the Australian Zionist Federation have discovered a truly nefarious enemy within our very own Jewish people.  These are those Jewish-born individuals who should be ashamed to call themselves Jews (we certainly don’t), because they hate, I say HATE, Israel and all it stands for.  People like those nasty Twitterers who mock magnificent specimens of Jewish manhood like Gerald Steinberg of NGO Monitor, and deputy minister Ayalon himself.  And how do these so-called Jews disseminate their hate?  Not through the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.  No they’re far too crafty and hip for that.  They seek ever newer ways to promote their bile.  They do it using the tools of the young people on whom they prey: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.  Yes, I said Twitter.  Is nothing sacred?

And who do we have to thank for this Paul Revere-like early warning of the impending peril to Israel?  Something called the Community Internet Engagement Project of the Australian Zionist Federation.  You see, many of our leaders are the white-haired Old Guard.  They’re used to dictating to cute secretaries a la Mad Men.  They barely know how to type, let alone tweet or “friend” someone on Facebook.  They’re the dinosaurs.  But the future belongs to the CIEP which aims to teach Australian Zionists how to fight for Israel in the perpetual online war waged by Islamofascists and their anti-Zionist fellow travelers.  All I can say is thank God for this veritable firewall, or should I say mechitza, on behalf of all that is good about the Jewish people.

We should thank them for all they do on our behalf (cut out that sniggering you in the back, this is serious work we’re engaged in):

Israel has been attached [sic] in Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. Eventually it had to happen… and in messages of 140 characters of [sic] less, now Twitter too is being used in public diplomacy against the Jewish state….In Israel MKs, such as Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, are also making use of Twitter. So is the IDF’s spokesperson and the Israeli Foreign Ministry. What’s new…are efforts to use Twitter to attack, satirise or demonise. Two fake profiles demonstrate the potential. The first, is a FakeDannyAyalon profile on twitter, [sic] is an example of political attacks. Using his real picture and a string of 79 posts, the profile spreads over-the-top messages in the Deputy Foreign Minister’s name. One expounds the rights of protestors to express themselves in Iran, going on to say those who do so in Israel should be shot. Another suggests a Palestinian Mandela must be found… so that he can be locked up. The second fake profile of interest is for NGO Monitor. NGO Monitor is the watchdog organisation that reports on human rights NGOs active in the Arab Israeli conflict.  This profile likewise makes over the top and self defeating statements. “‘Telling the truth is less important than defending Israel.’ Yes, EXACTLY! When will you learn?!” it reads. Another comment says “Remember: Everything we say = democratic debate, legitimate criticism. Everything they say = exploiting democracy for a political agenda”.

Ashley Perry and advisor to Danny Ayalon responded to our enquiries saying they were aware of FakeDannyAyalon on Twitter and that “imitation is the highest form of flattery”…Despite the interest from imitators, Danny Ayalon apparently soon launch a blog and an interactive website. One wonders if FakeDannyAyalon will be left by the wayside.

The fake profile for NGO Monitor is less blatant than that for Danny Ayalon. IT differs from NGO Monitor’s real account by only an under score. The posts also link to articles that debate and respond to NGO Monitor reports. The profile itself lists the Palestinian Propaganda [!] site Electronic Intifada as its home page. Electronic Intifada was previously exposed as being behind efforts to manipulate the Wikipedia community after they infiltrated and exposed efforts by CAMERA to encourage more people to become Wikipedia editors.

It’s taken a while, but finally twitter too has become a tool of online warfare. While Facebook bans the use of fake names, Twitter only prohibits Impersonation and Trademark violations. It remains to be seen how far satire can be used as a cover, and how good the satire must be to qualify. One this [sic] is certain, the online world is only growing in impact when it comes to politics and the international reputation of countries. Israel is starting to get online, but there is a long way still to go.

And with starke Yidn like Prof. Dr. Oboler on our side, we’ll get there in no time.  Who is this fellow, you ask?

Dr. Andre Oboler is a social media expert and Director of the Community Internet Engagement Project. He…spent a year as a Post Doctoral Fellow focusing on Online Public Diplomacy at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

Phew, I feel better already.  One thing you should know, by the way, is that that wonderful sounding name “public diplomacy” is another phrase for hasbara when it comes to Israel.  It’s selling Israel, selling its story (as conceived by the pro-Israel right), selling the good, and dismissing the bad with the wave of a hand.

Psst, Dr. Oboler, use that PhD in computer science to buy yourself a good grammar check program, lest the anti-Semit’n out there start thinking all of us Jews are semi-literate.

To enjoy the wonderful satire of NGO_Monitor and FakeDanny Ayalon, visit their profiles and be ready to laugh your head off.  Some of this has to be written by writers for Eretz Nehederet, it’s that good.  By the way, Prof. Dr. Oboler missed a few other hilarious ones as well that would throw him into fits of righteous indignation: Fake_Bibi, FakeShimonPeres, DanHalutz, M_Ahmadinejad, SalamFayyad and MohammadDahlan.  Please let us know about others in the comment thread below.

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Canadian Jewish Tourism Ad Uses Oral Sex to Promote Israeli Tourism

Sunday, February 21st, 2010
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UPDATE: The video was originally hosted by Vimeo, which removed it after a complaint that it featured “explict sexual content.” Bad taste, for sure. But “explicit” content? It is instructive though, at least in a symbolic sense, that Vimeo finds such Israeli hasbara is video pornography. H/t Robin.

Dimi Reider has discovered one of the stranger of Israel’s tourism promotions.  This one is sponsored by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) undoubtedly in close collaboration with the foreign ministry.  The video is in indescribably bad taste, portraying an attractive couple in bed with the woman telling the man she can’t possibly “do it” because it’s “too small.”  The dialogue is so lame that it simply must be quoted to be believed:


Girl: Uhhh…
Boy: What?
G: Don’t be mad…It’s just that it’s small…
B: Small?!
G: I don’t know if I can go there.
B: I consider this a spot of worship. It may be small, but it’s brought the driest places to life. Baby, this is paradise. [camera pans to show map of Israel and tourist guidebooks covering boy's crotch].
G: OK, but if I go down there for you, you have to promise you’ll down south for me next winter.

I’m simply flabbergasted that Israel would use the promise of fellatio and cunnilingus to promote itself. This also puts into proper perspective the blandishments of Birthright Israel and its former premier trip vendor, Shlomo Momo, who hold out to trip participants the possibility of great Jewish sex and meeting potential Jewish mates on their trips.

There are just way too many strange, odd places to go with this evocative video. Do you notice the phallic outline of Israel in the video’s opening image? What does it say about the creator’s fixation on the symbolic size of Israel’s, er member? Maybe Israel is compensating for this sense of sexual inferiority with its “muscular” Occupation (h/t to Ali Gharib)?

The website devised to promote this tourism campaign portrays Israel as a hipster paradise full of models, beaches, bronzed bodies, and beautiful modern metropolises. If I caught it correctly, there’s an image of a dread-locked Idan Raichel thrown in for good measure. Yes sir, Israel is nothing but sun and fun. Not a hint of politics. Not even culture, art or music. And certainly not an Arab in sight. In fact, here are some factoids of which the hasbara machine wants you to be proud:

Did you KNOW?

* On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotechnology startup companies in the world
* Israel is a world leader in water conservation and reforestation
* Arab Israelis have served as elected representatives of the Knesset (Parliament) since Israel was founded

Israel is a welcoming and inclusive country

* In 1999, an Arab woman was named as “Miss Israel”
* Israeli Arabs serve on the Israeli Supreme Court
* Israel is at the forefront of promoting equality for LGBT communities, as well as promoting women’s rights
* In 1969 Golda Meir was elected as Israel’s Prime Minister – the third elected woman leader of any other country in the world

Speaking of Israel’s technological innovation, did you get a load of those Mossad killers talking into their wrists with that cool gear that communicated with their Austrian command center? Now that’s innovation! Not to mention the cool floppy hat worn by the Mossad babe who was stalking the victim. If that isn’t fashion sense, what is? And how ’bout targeted assassinations in general? What a neat innovation Israel has perfected and given as a gift to the Palestinians and the rest of the world.

How ’bout those claims about Israeli Arabs? Holy shit, Batman! There are Arab Israelis who’ve been elected to the Knesset! I bet you thought they were all dishwashers, daily laborers and maids. No kidding. Of course, this “fact” omits the real fact that Arab political parties are excluded from governing coalitions, and rarely are individual Arab Knesset members named government ministers and so have almost no political power.

And yes, Israel is an inclusive and welcoming country if you’re a Jew. If you’re not, not so much.

Regarding Arabs sitting on the Supreme Court, this neglects the fact that the daughter of Israel’s Arab justice was treated like an Arab terrorist by the Shin Bet when she attempted to leave Israel. Israel is at the forefront of gay rights…except when crazy haredim stab gay marchers in Gay Pride parades, when haredi rabbis denounce gays as evil Sodomites, and when Tel Aviv gay community centers are attacked by crazed gunmen. As for Golda, that’s very nice except that the percentage of women in the Knesset is miserably low and women hold almost no major cabinet portfolios.

Is this any way to promote a country? You bet it ain’t. But one thing I have to say–this is yet another ‘brilliant’ manipulation brought to you by those boys, Yvette and Danny, and their most excellent adventure at the Israeli foreign ministry. At the rate they’re going, there may not be much of an Israel left to promote before too long.

This advertising campaign is part of a joint Israel rebranding effort organized by the Israeli consulate in Canada and Canadian Jewish business leaders including the Asper family and Jason Reitman, who also chairs CIJA. An earlier effort at this type of rebranding included the Toronto Film Festival’s honoring Tel Aviv’s 100th birthday in an effusion of pro-Israel glitz and hasbara that Israeli film artists and Naomi Klein objected to strenuously.

Students at 20 Canadian universities will have the pleasure of dreaming about oral sex in Israel when this tourism campaign comes to a campus near them in the coming weeks. I bet they just can’t wait.

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Bankruptcy of J Street on Goldstone, Iran Sanctions

Friday, February 19th, 2010
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J Street just sent out an e mail blast trumpeting a Jerusalem Post story (!) which first caught my glance because of an outrageous statement by an anonymous Israeli foreign affairs source, who had the temerity to claim that when J Street “forced” Danny Ayalon to boycott its Congressional delegation it was J Street that was harming Israel’s image:

One Foreign Ministry official, a man whose privately-expressed political views are not those of the deputy foreign minister, admitted that J Street had scored a political victory, but said it was a Pyrrhic one.

“The Foreign Ministry is very angry with J Street. They demanded to push themselves into the meetings with the representatives,” something ministry officials were instructed not to allow. “In the final analysis, they are happily harming Israel’s image once again, this time from Jerusalem. They’re using the American representatives to bash Israel. How can you be a friend of Israel and behave in a way that is so hurtful and arrogant and damaging? They didn’t make any friends in Israel this week.”

These are the words of an utter fool.  If anyone, it was Danny Ayalon’s fault for bashing Israel’s image.  As the JPost reporter makes clear in this report, no Aipac or AJC staffer is made to wait in the hallway or listen at the peephole when their own Congressional delegation visits at the MFA.  It’s certainly not J Street’s fault that Ayalon made an idiot of himself once again in this matter.  J Street was only insisting on what was its due.  Presumably the group will bring many future such delegations, as Aipac does regularly.  Does the MFA plan on blackening its own eye with a refusal every time J Street is in town??

I was fully prepared to write yet another positive piece about J Street and the constructive strategy it was adopting.  But my eyes were riveted by this passage I didn’t expect:

To his credit, J Street director Jeremy Ben Ami seems to understand this [lack of trust in its pro-Israel credentials], and used the current trip to try and put Israeli doubts to rest. Thus, he told Israeli reporters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday that J Street “urged members of Congress to vote for additional sanctions on Iran” and “urged the United States to prevent the [Goldstone] Report from moving forward in the United Nations.” Anti-Iran, anti-Goldstone; what more can you ask from a “pro-Israel” organization?

I hate to say it, since the only JPost columnists I ever agree with are Larry Derfner, Gershom Baskin and Naomi Chazan (may her column rest in peace).  But here I agree with the reporter when she writes:

J Street suffers from a trust deficit in Israel that is partly of its own making. Over the past two years, it tried to hedge its bets on Iran, going beyond a White House-like urging of dialogue…Its position on Goldstone took time to become clear, a gap that suggests to many that the group’s new position – opposed to the report, but supporting an Israeli inquiry into possible transgressions suggested in it – is born of tactical, not moral, principles.

I think J Street and its former Clinton White House operative are playing the old triangulation game, trying to navigate down a narrow channel between the Israeli right and progressive left.  When in Israel it tacks right, when in Washington or Seattle it tacks left.  Jeremy Ben Ami told me himself that J Street, while  in favor of the Berman Iran sanctions bill, was not in favor of sanctions yet and in fact was in favor of diplomatic engagement.  You can’t have it both ways, Jeremy.  Let’s be clear, there are two roads here and only two: one leads toward military confrontation and the other toward a comprehensive negotiated solution of the nuclear impasse.  If you favor the position Jeremy espoused in Jerusalem you’re on the road to war.  You may swear you’re not and not even intend for things to end in military adventure.  But you are.  If you try to be on both roads at the same time you’re nowhere at all.

As for J Street’s enunciated position on Goldstone, it’s even worse than the sanctions position.  J Street actually favors our government interposing itself between Israel, UN consideration and ultimately international justice.  Yes, I hear Jeremy say: “But we do favor an independent Israeli investigation.”  Yes, and I favor the elimination of poverty in our time.  But will it happen?  Jeremy, Bibi and I all know there will be no credible Israeli investigation of Gaza.  There simply will be none.  So J Street’s position on Goldstone is to all intents and purposes a nullity.  It is a recipe for sweeping potential war crimes under the carpet.  It is also guaranteed to render J Street AWOL on an important moral issue facing Israel and modern Zionism: can Israel exist on a foundation of moral depravity that is the Occupation and concomitant wars like Gaza and Lebanon?  I say no.  J Street says, hold on a second–maybe.  That is simply unconscionable for a truly progressive Jewish peace group.  Goldstone deserves better.

I’m sorry, but on this I part company with J Street.  Theirs is a big mistake.  A sacrifice of moral principle for temporary tactical advantage.  You can only do this so many times before your moral chits are exhausted.  I hope J Street doesn’t make a habit of this sort of moral temporizing.  I note that even Steve Rosen and Daniel Pipes are writing positively about Barack Obama’s collapsing Israel policy.   I’d hate to see J Street become collateral damage in this looming disaster.

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Israel Plants Shills at U.S. Events

Thursday, February 18th, 2010
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In the annals of hasbara, some interesting developments.  First, in an attempt to shoot itself not in one foot but both, deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon refused to allow a J Street Congressional delegation to meet with government officials.  Why?  Well, certainly because J Street is anathema to his rightist political agenda.  But Ayalon demanded that the delegation exclude Jeremy Ben Ami, the J Street leader accompanying the mission, from such meetings.

Mossad killers in tennis outfit disguise

Think about this.  Aipac brings Congressional delegations to Israel regularly.  Its staff routinely accompany members to all of their meetings on these trips.  So Ayalon wishes to throw up a wall between the “bad” J Street and the “good” Aipac.  It’s ludicrous.  Beyond that, these four members of Congress actually vote on foreign aid appropriations which are critical to Israel’s well-being.  Does Ayalon really think he can take their votes for granted?  Does he care?

What I hope will happen is that the next J Street delegation will contain 25 members and then Ayalon will be forced to meet with them or at least allow them to meet with officials under his thumb.

I’m pleased that Tzipi Livni has bucked Ayalon and met with the delegation.  As a leader of the opposition I would expect she’d welcome an opportunity to stick her finger in Ayalon’s eye.  And he’s made it oh so easy for her to do so.

Some true dufus from Israel’s UK embassy thought the accompanying tweet was cute, alluding to Shahar Peer’s tennis victory in a Dubai tournament and Israel’s alleged “hit” against a Hamas operative.  Rememeber too, that the Mossad hit men wore tennis gear to disguise their evil intent.  Next time you see overweight middle aged men with beards or mustaches in your hotel, beware.  This is what passes for wit at the MFA these days.  Keep in mind this is the very same embassy whose ambassador has been summoned by the foreign office to explain how the Mossad managed to steal the identities of five British nationals and use them to murder the Hamas leader in Dubai.  Now, that’s effrontery.  Thanks to a commenter noting this true oddity of Israeli hasbara.

Here’s more from the Israeli foreign ministry.  Apparently, they’ve been stung by the hostile reception meted out to Michael Oren at UC Irvine and Ayalon himself at Oxford on recent speaking engagements.  So how are they going to respond?  Listen to this from M.J. Rosenberg:

The Israeli daily, Ma’ariv, reported on Tuesday that the foreign ministry has devised a plan to counter the demonstrators who turn out whenever an Israeli diplomat appears on a campus.

“The Foreign Ministry intends to include groups of Israeli university students on trips of high-ranking Israelis overseas. The goal is to counter the heckling,” Ma’ariv reported.

“The students [in groups of five] will wave Israeli flags, will blow whistles and call out.”

Talk about a couple of hare-brained schemes. Once upon a time, Israeli policies were defended by people who thought they were right and spontaneously turned out. Now the government is enlisting ringers.

I’m sure that’s going to be welcomed by security personnel at campuses around the world.  As if they didn’t have enough to worry about keeping the peace at these events.  Now, they’ve got a foreign, non-student element with a built in goal of provoking hostility from students.  Have you ever heard of such an idiotic plan in your life?

I’ve already written here about the new Israeli Hasbara Ministry (yes, that’s literally what it’s called in Hebrew) headed by settler leader, Yuli Edelstein.  Of course, Bronner won’t tell you about Edelstein’s rightist background because that’s the kind of pro-Israel reporter he is.  The Hasbarists plan to enlist Israelis who travel abroad and all of world Jewry, according to Ethan Bronner, in a campaign to rebut the negative image Israel has around the world.  What will they tell those who have yet to appreciate Israel’s virtues?

One main message of the campaign is that Israel is a technically advanced and diverse society and that its government policies are not the source of regional conflict. It notes that a number of important agricultural breakthroughs have occurred here, including drip irrigation and the development of the cherry tomato.

Yes, that’s the way to dispel notions that Israel is a blood-thirsty nation that represses millions of Palestinians and engages in all out war with its neighbors: remind the world about drip irrigation and those delicious cherry tomatoes they eat every day.  Not to mention Israel’s other major export–high-tech lame-brained political assassinations.  If that doesn’t turn things around for Israel, nothing will.

What other elements of the campaign will bring the world around to Israel’s point of view?

…It also seeks to puncture what the ministry considers common myths about Israel — that it is a big and primitive country, that its food consists of little more than hummus and falafel, and that Israelis as a group do not seek peace.

Yes, tell ‘em that Israelis also eat schwarma and schnitzel and all those other wonderful foods gracing their own western kitchen tables.  That’ll do the trick.  And peace?  Of course Israelis want peace.  If only those pesky Palestinians would realize they don’t need all that land in Judea and Samaria which God promised to the Jews anyway.  Then we could have peace.

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Ayalon Snubs J Street Congressional Delegation

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
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Con. Bill Delahunt addresses J Street U.S. Congressional delegation (AP/Ariel Schalit)

In an astonishing breach of diplomatic protocol, rightist deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon has boycotted a Congressional delegation visiting Israel under the auspices of J Street. The foreign ministry, which normally would arrange meetings for the visiting officials with Israeli government officials has snubbed the group after Ayalon told a receptive audience of Conference of Presidents leaders that J Street had not right to call itself “pro-Israel” because it was anything but.

Ayalon released a mystifying counter-statement that blamed the delegation for being snubbed because it supposedly tried to dictate who it would meet with:

The Foreign Ministry issued a statement Wednesday, saying, “We always welcome American Congress members who visit Israel and are happy to arrange meetings for them with any political officials in Israel.

“The Foreign Ministry is happy to arrange such meetings for U.S. Congress members currently in Israel, without any mediators. The Foreign Ministry is troubled by the attempt to dictate who will be present at such meetings, which is unacceptable in diplomatic life.”

The upshot seems to be that Ayalon will arrange meetings with any Israeli officials they wish to see as long as he, Ayalon can dictate who they want to see. Makes sense?  I’m guessing that Ayalon wanted to exclude J Street personnel from any meetings in a deliberate insult against the so-called anti-Israel group.

Personally, I think Danny missed an opportunity to humiliate the Congressmembers as he did the Turkish ambassador. He should’ve seated all of ‘em on pre-school sized chairs with the legs unscrewed so he at the opportune moment when the TV cameras were rolling he could’ve kicked the legs out from under ‘em and sent ‘em sprawling on the floor. That’d show ‘em what’s truly pro-Israel!

This incident is the ultimate revenge of the hasbarist mafia.  May it come back to bite Mr. Ayalon in the tuchus as his little fracas with the Turkish ambassador did.  The difference being that Erdogan don’t take s(&t from no one and threatened to recall his ambassador.  Neither Barack Obama nor Nancy Pelosi have quite the b(&#s to pull that off.

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Lieberman Shames Turkish Ambassador, Torpedoes Israel-Turkish Relations

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
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In most cases, a country’s foreign minister is responsible for furthering his nation’s economic and political interests abroad.  Not in Israel.  In that country, the current foreign minister seems responsible for hectoring any country he deems insufficiently supportive of Israel; and in a few instances like Egypt and Turkey he seems hell-bent on destroying relations altogether.

How else to explain the bizarre performance yesterday by Danny Ayalon, deputy Israeli foreign minister and capo di tutti of Avigdor Lieberman, at which he brusquely summoned the Turkish ambassador for a brushing down, and in a highly unusual move summoned press photographers to record the humiliation and pointedly noted that the ambassador was sitting in a lower position than the Israelis and that the latter refused to shake his hand.  Here is how Yediot reported the story:

When the ambassador was finally asked to enter the room, his hosts instructed him to sit on a low couch opposite the higher chairs in which they were seated. The hosts, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General for Europe, Naor Gilon [ed., and suspected Steven Rosen intelligence conduit], and Ayalon’s office director, David Segal did not smile at their guest and refused to shake his hand.

When the photographers suggested a handshake, the Foreign Ministry officials refused. “That is precisely the issue,” said Ayalon. Ayalon made sure that no one could have any doubts that the humiliation of the ambassador was anything but deliberate: “The important thing is that people see that he’s low and we’re high and that there is one flag here,” he said to the photographers.

This reminds me more of the battle between Freedonia and Sylvania in the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup, than the behavior of a serious national diplomatic corps:

I have taken it upon myself to make one final effort to prevent war.

- No kidding? – I’ve talked to Ambassador Trentino, and he says Sylvania doesn’t want war either.

…I’ve taken the liberty of asking the ambassador to come over here. Because we both felt that a friendly conference would settle everything peacefully. He’ll be here any moment.

Mrs. Teasdale…I’d be only too happy to meet Ambassador Trentino and offer him on behalf of my country the right hand of good fellowship. And I feel sure he will accept this gesture in the spirit in which it is offered.

But suppose he doesn’t. A fine thing that’ll be. I hold out my hand and he refuses to accept it. That’ll add a lot to my prestige, won’t it? Me, the head of a country, snubbed by a foreign ambassador! Who does he think he is that he can come here and make a sap out of me in front of my people?

Think of it. I hold out my hand and that hyena refuses to accept it. Why, the cheap four-flushing swine! He’ll never get away with it, I tell you! He’ll never get away with it!

…So, you refuse to shake hands with me, eh?

Mrs. Teasdale, this is the last straw! There’s no turning back now!  This means war!

Then it’s war!

israel humiliates turkish ambassador

'The height of humiliation' (Yisrael Hayom)

I wonder whether Bibi Netanyahu, when he appointed Lieberman, realized what he was getting was closer to opera buffa than real diplomacy.  Of course, this performance (which is precisely what it is) brings nothing but ridicule on Israel.  Nations of the world wonder whether the Marx Brothers are running the MFA, instead of professional diplomats.

The Bibi scandal sheet, Yisrael HaYom revels in the political grandstanding with this brazen ‘Height of Humiliation’ photo.

What makes this even more buffoonish is that Lieberman is willing to create this international incident in order to score cheap domestic political points against a rival.  Ehud Barak is scheduled for a major visit to Ankara this weekend.  What better way to screw up the Labor Party leader’s efforts to get Syria-Israel negotiations back on track than to poison the well even before Barak arrives.

I’ve always felt that Israeli politics resembles an alligator wrestling pit more than anything else and this story confirms it.  I’m afraid the analogy to an alligator pit may be doing these noble ancient beasts a disservice.

Turkey’s prime minister however, is a real national leader and no fool.  He’s not playing this as opera and refuses to allow his ambassador to be publicly humiliated. Remember this is the same Erdogan who at Davos dressed down the incipiently senile Shimon Peres when the latter attempted to defend the Gaza war using the most bombastic propaganda.  Now Erdogan is kickin’ butt and takin’ down names:

Turkey demanded an apology from Israel on Tuesday over what it called the discourteous treatment of its ambassador, further souring ties between the two regional powers on the eve of a visit by Israel’s defence minister.

…”We expect an explanation and apologies from Israeli authorities for the attitude against our Tel Aviv ambassador Oguz Celikkol, and the way this attitude was reflected,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

“We call on the Israeli Foreign Ministry, whose behaviour and attitude towards our Tel Aviv Ambassador did not comply with diplomacy, to obey courtesy rules,” it said.

The MFA seemed to enjoy the tit for tat and responded with vintage hasbara:

“The Turks are the last people who can preach morality to the State of Israel and the IDF, which is the most moral army in the world.”

UPDATE: Ayalon has “apologized” for his behavior with a statement that typically lacks any crediblity:

…”It is not my way to insult foreign ambassadors and in the future I will clarify my position by more acceptable diplomatic means.”

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Posted in Mideast Peace | 13 Comments »

Israel’s Pro-Iran War Dog and Pony Show Coming Soon to a Jewish Community Near You…

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
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Sheldon Adelson’s shmate, Yisrael HaYom, reports that several senior Israeli cabinet ministers including Bogie Yaalon, Benny Begin, Danny Ayalon, Alon Pinkas, and Dan Meridor are taking the pro-war dog and pony show on the road to the U.S. in the crucial September-October period.  Which one of us will have the pleasure of seeing their shining faces and hearing their golden words?

The emissaries will address university students, public leaders and public opinion formers, including senators, Members of Congress, administration officials, governors, mayors, journalists, members of influential organizations and Jewish communities, church leaders and other community leaders. The lectures will be given in Washington, New York, Chicago, Boston and Atlanta, among other locations.

The idea is the brain-child of that master of international diplomacy, Avigdor Lieberman.  Though the tour is being presented as standard hasbara (e.g. refuting prejudices against Israel, etc.) the real purpose of the visit is not mentioned: get Iran.

The September-October period is seen as crucial by Israel.  Dennis Ross and Pres. Obama have each talked about September as the date by which the U.S. would review the success of its diplomatic engagement strategy (which has had no palpable success at all).  October is the month in which the General Assembly meets and world leaders (including Ahmadinejad) tell the world their political priorities.  There is no question that Israel wants a radical toughening of U.S. policy toward Iran by then.  There are already legislative proposals for draconian sanctions which would undermine Obama administration policy.  Israel and its domestic agent, Aipac, are certainly behind these measures.

What Israel appears to want is the softening of U.S. opinion towards an Israeli attack on Iran.  Hasbara initiatives like the one announced by Yisrael HaYom are part of the perception management campaign here to stiffen the backbone of American Jews and Americans in general against Iran.  When you start seeing your Jewish federation of local Israel lobby organization hosting events like this in your local community (or even ones more specifically targeting Iran) you’ll know that this is probably not a locally generated initiative.  But rather one dreamed up in Tel Aviv (or the Israeli embassy in D.C. or the consulates in your region) by Israeli diplomats and politicians and implemented here by Aipac, Stand With Us, The Israel Project, and Middle East Forum.

We must fight back against such orchestrated pro-war propaganda and uncover the hidden agenda of these events, including their funding and sponsorship (hidden or public).  View the motives and independence of any speaker participating in such events with suspicion.  If you read your local Jewish newspaper please send me announcements of such anti-Iran events along with any agenda, speaker list, etc.

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Posted in Mideast Peace, Politics & Society | 16 Comments »

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