 Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, a sharp tongued Russian emigre who may or may not be a money launderer, nurtures his taste for irony:
"The Arabs, our adversaries, have succeeded in doing to us what 'Borat' did for Kazakhstan", Ido Aharoni told the Knesset Defense and Security Committee on Tuesday, referring to the 2006 Sacha Baron Cohen film in which Cohen portrayed a Kazakh filmmaker touring the United States.
Aharoni, head of the Brand Israel project, said Arab public relations measures "have created an image [for Israelis] whose connection to reality is very weak." Aharoni's comments mirrored those made by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said "we [Israel] cannot advance successful diplomacy if we don't change the way we are viewed." Um ... paging Mr. Lieberman... your problem might be two-fold: your policies, your settlements ... and YOU. That's right sir. You ... YOU ... are Israel's Borat.
Some of Lieberman's "greatest hits":
- In 2003 he advocated the drowning of Palestinian prisoners in the Dead Sea and offered to provide buses to take them there. When Jamal Zahalka, an Arab Member of the Knesset, criticised him for making this comment Mr Lieberman threatened his fellow Member of the Knesset by saying, "Let me tell you openly. As far as I'm concerned you're much worse than Arafat and Abu Mazen. If it was up to me you'd be sitting in jail, at best." (Haaretz 08/07/2003)
- In May 2004, he said that 90 percent of Israel's 1.2 million Arabs would "have to find a new Arab entity" in which to live beyond Israel's borders. "They have no place here. They can take their bundles and get lost,". (Institue for Middle East Understanding 12/11/06
- He is a staunch opponent of the peace process. He resigned his post and left the Likud party in protest over then-Prime Minister Netanyahu's signing of the U.S.-brokered Wye River Memorandum. (Institue for Middle East Understanding 12/11/06
- The Jerusalem Post reported that Lieberman called for the execution of any Arab Members of Knesset who meet with representatives of the Palestinian government, saying, "World War II ended with the Nurenberg trials. The heads of the Nazi regime, along with their collaborators, were executed. I hope this will be the fate of the collaborators in [the Knesset]." (Jerusalem Post 04/05/06)
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Labels: international news, Israel, Mideast peace process, settlements |
