Benjamin Netanyahu Archives

On Humanity’s Behalf

May 20, 2024 Buck Banks

Well, you’ve gone and done it now, Bibi.
You’ve invoked the ire of the I.C.C.
Not for rude rhetoric
Or just being a dick,
Nope, this charge is for crimes against humanity.

Gantz Issues Ultimatum to Netanyahu, Israeli Cabinet

May 19, 2024 Buck Banks

“If you choose the path of zealots, dragging the country into the abyss, we will be forced to leave the government. We will turn to the people and build a government that will earn the people’s trust.”

— Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet quoted by the New York Times, giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an ultimatum.

Netanyahu: Israel Can Go It Alone

May 10, 2024 Buck Banks

“If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone.”

— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel was strong enough to fight alone as the United States warned that it could cut military aid to the country, the Washington Post reports.

Netanyahu Declares War on Hamas

October 8, 2023 Buck Banks

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war. Not an operation, not a round of fighting, at war. I am initiating an extensive mobilization of the reserves to fight back on a scale and intensity that the enemy has so far not experienced. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.”

— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, quoted by the Times of Israel.

How Much Does Obama Hate Israel? 1.9 Billion Times

May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 Jon Ponder

One of the many persistent right-wing lies about Pres. Obama is that he hates Israel. It may be true that he’s not fond of the country’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, a despicable figure who is closely aligned with Republicans in the U.S. Congress, a cabal that makes no secret of its contempt for the president. But there’s no evidence that Obama loves or hates Israel any more than he likes or dislikes any of America’s allies.

Writing in the Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf summed up this particular right-wing myth about the president last summer:

[…]

Analysis from a Notorious Bully

March 26, 2015 Buck Banks

This is no way to treat an ally. Conducting the foreign policy of a great nation requires maturity and a strategic sense of America’s long-term interests. This is no time for schoolyard antics.

— Jeb Bush, writing for National Review, on President Obama’s relationship with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu is not Richard Nixon

March 25, 2015 Buck Banks

For twenty years, many people in Israel and in the West have expressed the hope that Benjamin Netanyahu would prove to be the Richard Nixon of the State of Israel … the Nixon who yearned to enter the pantheon of statesmen, and who defied his Red-baiting past and initiated diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. … It is amazing to recall how long this fantasy persisted.

— David Remnick, writing in the New Yorker.

McCain Scolds Obama

March 24, 2015 Buck Banks

The President should get over it. Get over your temper tantrum, Mr. President!

— Sen. John McCain, in an interview with CNN, on President Obama’s “personal problems” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Pelosi: Netanyahu’s Address was Condescending

March 5, 2015 Buck Banks

I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister’s speech — saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States… and saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation.

— House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), quoted by The Hill, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress.

Netanyahu: I’m Not Dissing Obama

March 3, 2015March 3, 2015 Buck Banks

My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the esteemed office that he holds. I have great respect for both.

— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opening “his high-profile visit to the American capital by playing down any personal dispute with President Obama, but he said that he had a ‘moral obligation’ to warn against the dangers of an American-brokered nuclear deal with Iran,” the New York Times reports.

“If you choose the path of zealots, dragging the country into the abyss, we will be forced to leave the government. We will turn to the people and build a government that will earn the people’s trust.”

— Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet quoted by the New York Times, giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an ultimatum.

“If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone.”

— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel was strong enough to fight alone as the United States warned that it could cut military aid to the country, the Washington Post reports.

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war. Not an operation, not a round of fighting, at war. I am initiating an extensive mobilization of the reserves to fight back on a scale and intensity that the enemy has so far not experienced. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.”

— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, quoted by the Times of Israel.

This is no way to treat an ally. Conducting the foreign policy of a great nation requires maturity and a strategic sense of America’s long-term interests. This is no time for schoolyard antics.

— Jeb Bush, writing for National Review, on President Obama’s relationship with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

— David Remnick, writing in the New Yorker.

The President should get over it. Get over your temper tantrum, Mr. President!

— Sen. John McCain, in an interview with CNN, on President Obama’s “personal problems” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister’s speech — saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States… and saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation.

— House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), quoted by The Hill, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress.

My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the esteemed office that he holds. I have great respect for both.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“He’s played through this really old entire playbook where there’s no floor for him in terms of how low he will go. And we should be prepared for that, we should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth… I think he’s gonna lie.”

— Kamala Harris, on The Rickey Smiley Show, talking about what Donald Trump will do in the debate.

“I have never seen a candidate more determined to blow an election.”

— GOP pollster Frank Luntz, on X, on Donald Trump’s latest vow to use the power of government to imprison his political opponents.

“Cheney and I agree on nothing — no issues. But what we do believe in is that the United States should retain its democratic foundations …. I applaud the Cheneys for their courage in defending democracy.”

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), on Meet the Press.

“A series of tests confront Trump heading into Tuesday’s event, about self-discipline, knowledge, his age and acuity, his overall temperament, and how he deals with the issues of race and gender. For the past six weeks, he’s often been failing those tests.”

— Dan Balz

“Donald Trump has risen in the polls the more the people have reacted negatively to his treatment in the courtroom. And if the judge had gone ahead with this, it could have easily been the October surprise.”

— Karl Rove told Fox News that allowing sentencing to proceed in Donald Trump’s New York hush money case could have given Trump a boost in the polls.

Numerati

30%

A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found 30% of registered voters said tonight’s debate will help them a great deal or good amount in making their selection for president. Roughly 69% said they do not think the event will help them very much or at all with their decision in November.

$1.3 billion

“The IRS has collected $1.3 billion from high wealth tax dodgers since last fall, the agency announced Friday, crediting spending that has ramped up collection enforcement through President Joe Biden’s signature climate, health care and tax package signed into law in 2022,” the AP reports.

46% to 45%

$48% to 43%

$25 million