Avigdor Lieberman, national whitewasher

[Jefferson23]

Published 21:49 09.12.11
Latest update 21:49 09.12.11

Experience teaches us that there is no reason to believe that Netanyahu will speak out against the damage Lieberman has done to whatever is left of Israel’s good name in the world.

By Akiva Eldar


Approximately eight months ago, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced that he had decided to serve Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman with an indictment. The first accusation had to do with money laundering. Since then, Lieberman has spent his time whitewashing certain dubious leaders. And when he is not introducing bills against left-wing NGOs and the Supreme Court, or bashing the media, the Yisrael Beiteinu leader devotes himself to making Israel look bad overseas.

A few weeks ago he got chummy with the knight of human rights, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who sent Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to prison. This week, the leader of the third largest party in Israel stood by Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin, who is competing with his Syrian friend, Bashar Assad, in the field of humanism and love of mankind.

Perhaps this time, while he is shooting in all directions, Lieberman will shoot himself in the foot, if not his own head. The rigged Russian elections, which took place under the banner of “fair, equal and democratic”, are reminiscent of the cries of support for former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during the Tahrir Square protests earlier this year. If Lieberman was a member of some negligible faction belonging to the opposition, the Prime Minister would be able to shake him off. But Lieberman holds positions of utmost importance: deputy prime minister, and foreign minister.

Yesterday, American Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro could not stop praising the wonderful coordination between the two countries. How will he explain the rift between Lieberman’s praise for Putin, and the fact that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanded an full-scale investigation of the elections in Russia.

remainder: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/avigdor-lieberman-national-whitewasher-1.400589

[LeftishBrit]

1. Lieberman is vile...

and obviously a hopeless choice for Foreign Secretary.

He's always seemed a little too fond of Putin for comfort, IIRC.