Israel Matzav

Attorney General's office says photomontage of Bibi as a Nazi okay

I am sure that many of you remember the picture at the top of this post. At the time, 1994, then-opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu was blamed for it. In fact, in Leftist circles, Netanyahu is still blamed for 'inciting' against Rabin, and that poster is the symbol of the incitement. But the poster at top left was actually made by a General Security Service operative, Avishai Raviv. And two teenagers (but not Raviv) were eventually prosecuted for distributing it at a Jerusalem rally, which I attended (I did not see the poster at the rally).

You would think that the Left, which is hypersensitive about posters of Israeli politicians in Nazi uniforms, would be hypersensitive about it across the board. You'd be wrong.

Reminding us that there's nothing wrong for a center-right wing Prime Minister of Israel to be photo-montaged into a similar SS Nazi uniform, a left wing blogger created such a display this past summer.

MK Ophir Akunis (Likud) filed a police complaint Tuesday morning against a blog that published photomontages depicting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a Nazi SS uniform. The Likud's Legal Adviser, Attorney Avi HaLevi, accompanied Akunis to the police station and also signed the complaint.

The blog is named HaOtzer HaEzrachi ("The Civilian Curfew"). It went offline Monday after the press discovered the photos, and news of their existence began to circulate.

The blog featured a demand that Netanyahu and members of his government be put on trial. It showed a caption that read "The Main Suspect: Binyamin Netanyahu," and beneath it three photomontage pictures that show Netanyahu in Nazi uniform. At least one of the pictures also has Netanyahu giving a Nazi salute.

Akunis and HaLevi noted that the bloggers identify themselves as citizens of Israel who represent "the heart of the Israeli protest against the policies of the capitalist-piggish Netanyahu government" and refuse to talk to Netanyahu.

The bloggers compare the Prime Minister to a drunk who has cruelly murdered a loved one. In such a case, they ask their readers, "would you try to create a 'solution' or would you consider continuing to live with the same vile murderer?"

Netanyahu is labeled "the main suspect" and the bloggers demand that he and his ministers be brought to a "field trial" and call on the public to take action in this direction. (INN)

Today, MK Ofir Akunis shared on his Facebook page that he was informed that a photo montage of Netanyahu in an SS uniform is not "criminal incitement" and his complaint will be shelved. He announced that Shai Niztan has ordered the police to close their investigation into the blog which created the photo montage of Netanyahu in an SS uniform. (also reported in Hebrew, here)

Read the whole thing.

In January, an Israeli was prosecuted for uploading a video to YouTube which called for the murder of... Shai Nitzan. In July, the family of the Israeli prosecutor who ordered the arrest of Kiryat Arba's Rabbi Dov Lior was said to be living in fear for their lives. The prosecutor's name: Shai Nitzan. So then why is Shai Nitzan so callous about threats to Israel's Prime Minister?

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Shai Nitzan, Yitzchak Rabin

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:28 PM