Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, called on Barack Obama to publicly “name and shame” the administration official who called Prime Minister Netanyahu a “chickensh*t” in a recent interview.
The slur could impact the midterm elections.
WATCH: Obama official calling Netanyahu 'chickenshit' will impact U.S. election, says Tapper http://t.co/wM1kdrSmwi
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) October 29, 2014
Algemeiner reported:
Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder and Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, has called on President Barack Obama to “name, apologize for, and repudiate” the anonymous official who was quoted, in an Atlantic Magazine article by Jeffrey Goldberg, describing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “chickenshit.”
In a telephone call with The Algemeiner from his Los Angeles office, an incensed Rabbi Hier declared: “It is rather ironic that a senior American official is prepared to curse his friends, yet when it comes to the mortal enemies of the United States – as the Iranians discovered during the recent nuclear negotiation – praise is heaped on them.”
Goldberg’s piece extensively quoted an anonymous “senior Obama administration official” who showered Netanyahu with invective, saying, “The thing about Bibi is, he’s a chickenshit.” Goldberg then observed: “Over the years, Obama administration officials have described Netanyahu to me as recalcitrant, myopic, reactionary, obtuse, blustering, pompous, and ‘Aspergery.’ (These are verbatim descriptions; I keep a running list.)”
An Israeli official today said the “chickensh*t” comment was an effort to preempt Netanyahu’s criticism of Obama’s upcoming announcement of a nuclear deal with Iran.
Sr. Israeli official: 'Chickenshit' remark is effort to 'preempt' Netanyahu's criticism 'of imminent and highly problematic deal with Iran.'
— Herb Keinon (@HerbKeinon) October 29, 2014