Netanyahu: Rahm Emanuel a self-hating Jew

[Elfdart]

Haaretz

Netanyahu's paranoia extends to 'self-hating Jews' Emanuel and Axelrod
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel news, Rahm Emanuel

At about 3:15 P.M. yesterday, the government's 100th day in office, political correspondents' beepers went off. In an unprecedented move, the Prime Minister's Bureau was inviting the correspondents to a press conference at the Knesset that was slated to begin in 15 minutes. This was the start of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's panicked, disproportionate response to the criticism senior Kadima politicians had leveled at him three hours earlier.

Kadima MKs had attacked Netanyahu at a press conference under the banner "100 days, zero gains. It's the same old Bibi." Later, Kadima supporters handed out stickers with anti-Netanyahu slogans in the Knesset cafeteria.

Netanyahu, who - unusually - was in the cafeteria on Wednesday, got one of the stickers from his political adviser, Shalom Shlomo, and summoned ministers Yisrael Katz, Gideon Sa'ar and Gilad Erdan to a meeting. "I want to call a press conference," Netanyahu said. His colleagues tried to dissuade him, but he insisted.
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However, instead of appearing at the press conference himself, he stayed in his office and sent his advisers.

An atmosphere of permanent crisis has surrounded Netanyahu's bureau ever since he took office, so it was no surprise that the press conference also had an air of panic. The five advisers - National Security Adviser Uzi Arad, cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser, director general of the Prime Minister's Office Eyal Gabai, political adviser Ron Dermer and Nir Hefetz, who heads the public relations desk - arrived at the meeting without a prearranged, uniform message. Over and over, they cut each other off.

Hauser tried to convince the press that Netanyahu's zigzagging on the issue of value-added tax was a deliberate ploy coordinated with the other coalition parties. Arad once again lambasted U.S. President Barack Obama's refusal to honor understandings reached with his predecessor, George W. Bush, on the issue of the settlements, but argued that coordination with Washington on Iran had actually improved. Dermer emphasized Netanyahu's speech at Bar-Ilan University, which he said won international plaudits. And Hefetz denied that there was any panic in Netanyahu's bureau, attributing the friction there to "work-related pressure."

But despite the unified front they tried to present, it is clear that all of Netanyahu's aides dislike each other: They are constantly badmouthing each other and blaming each other for leaks. Arad, for example, demanded that Hauser undergo a lie-detector test and is now demanding the same of Hefetz. And the latter two say "it is impossible to work with" Arad.

Compounding the problem is an inexperienced bureau chief, Natan Eshel, and a former spokesman, Yossi Levy, who is still clinging to his office and refusing to give it up to his replacement, Hefetz - who, for his part, is kept out of half the discussions.

Netanyahu appears to be suffering from confusion and paranoia. He is convinced that the media are after him, that his aides are leaking information against him and that the American administration wants him out of office. Two months after his visit to Washington, he is still finding it difficult to communication normally with the White House. To appreciate the depth of his paranoia, it is enough to hear how he refers to Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, Obama's senior aides: as "self-hating Jews."

"He thought that his speech at Bar-Ilan would become mandatory reading at schools in the United States, and when he realized that Obama gave no such order, he went back to being frustrated," one of his associates said.

At a recent meeting with with Netanyahu, ostensibly about the understandings with the U.S. on the settlements, former prime minister Ehud Olmert was shocked to see the prime minister focusing mainly on the media. "Is this what he called me in for?" a source close to Olmert quoted him as saying.

Behind closed doors, Netanyahu's coalition partners - including Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman - have also expressed shock at his behavior. One senior minister told an aide that he is finding it very difficult to work with the premier. "He drives us mad," the minister said. "Every minute things change, and I am constantly busy doing maintenance on Netanyahu."

Normally this kind of racist horseshit (the equivalent of calling blacks "Uncle Tom" or "house nigger") is shoveled around by Zionist shills in the media -not political leaders- and dumped on people like Noam Chomsky or Norman Finkelstein. What exactly has Rahm Emanuel, or David Axelrod done to deserve this kind of thing? -which should be considered a badge of honor, by the way.

[Vympel]

"He thought that his speech at Bar-Ilan would become mandatory reading at schools in the United States, and when he realized that Obama gave no such order, he went back to being frustrated," one of his associates said.

What the fuck? Why the hell would you think that?

[[R_H]]

"He thought that his speech at Bar-Ilan would become mandatory reading at schools in the United States, and when he realized that Obama gave no such order, he went back to being frustrated," one of his associates said.

What the fuck? Why the hell would you think that?

Has that ever occured in the US, a speech being required reading in schools?

[Rahvin]

Has that ever occurred in the US, a speech being required reading in schools?

The Gettysburg Address, I think, would qualify.

[Elfdart]

Has that ever occurred in the US, a speech being required reading in schools?

The Gettysburg Address, I think, would qualify.

The Address itself usually isn't required reading, but knowing who gave it, when, and why is part of every American History class. Netanyahu should be thankful for facetime on CNN. Required reading?

[Rahvin]

The Address itself usually isn't required reading, but knowing who gave it, when, and why is part of every American History class.

My class was required to not only read it, but memorize it.

[Kodiak]

We were required to read the Gettysburg Address, as well as MLK Jr's "I have a dream" speech. Also, American children are required to memorize the preamble to the Constitution, but I don't think that counts as a speech. IIRC, we also read Washington's last presidential address about "Avoiding entangling alliances".

[Ace Pace]

*laughs* That's Netanyahu all right, though I wouldn't take the "leak" about him being frustrated it's not required reading seriously. It's the sort of leak here that very few people take seriously.

More interesting is the attack on Rahm Emanuel, somewhat reminiscent of how the Israeli politicians view Kissinger as any Jew who doesn't live for Israel is a useless person.

[Elfdart]

We were required to read the Gettysburg Address, as well as MLK Jr's "I have a dream" speech. Also, American children are required to memorize the preamble to the Constitution, but I don't think that counts as a speech. IIRC, we also read Washington's last presidential address about "Avoiding entangling alliances".

You got off easy. We had to learn all the verses to the Star-Spangled Banner. Considering that half my grade school class was black, the bit about "the hireling and the slave" went over about as well as the Virginia state song mentioning "contented darkies".

[Anguirus]

It's very weird from my perspective that a country's chief executive would think the US president has the authority to make one particular thing "required reading" by decree. That's kinda Third World-ish. Even if it was a joke, it's a little boggling.

[Ace Pace]

It's very weird from my perspective that a country's chief executive would think the US president has the authority to make one particular thing "required reading" by decree. That's kinda Third World-ish. Even if it was a joke, it's a little boggling.

I think it bears repeating, I very much doubt this was actually said. Israel has a very long tradition of staff being unloyal, and Netanyahu has this problem in spades (as mentioned in the article).

[KroLazuxy_87]

The only things really required by the federal government of schools is that they take standardized testing to figure out who gets more money, and I think a U.S. Constitution test (A watered down version of a citizenship test). None of the reading I did was mandatory by the Feds. Missouri required everyone take a State Constitution test and I think my school district had some things that were mandatory in the curriculum. Then again, not everyone always took the same classes, especially in high school.