Two days ago, YWN posted a photo of President Obama talking on the phone with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The photo which was released to the media showed Obama with his shoes up on the desk during the conversation. Many questioned why YWN chose to post the photo.
Apparently, many people found the photo insulting as well, as is obvious from the following story by CBS News:
Israeli TV newscasters Tuesday night interpreted a photo taken Monday in the Oval Office of President Obama talking on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “insult” to Israel.
They saw the incident as somewhat akin to an incident last year, when the Iraqi reporter threw a shoe at President Bush in Baghdad.
It is considered an insult in the Arab world to show the sole of your shoe to someone. It is not a Jewish custom necessarily, but Israel feels enough a part of the Middle East after 60 years to be insulted too.
Was there a subliminal message intended from the White House to Netanyahu in Jerusalem, who is publicly resisting attempts by Mr. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to force Israel to stop any kind of settlement activity in occupied territories once and forever?
Whether or not it is true, it shows the mood in Israel. They feel cornered. The reactions out of Israel reflect that feeling.
Netanyahu is making a speech Sunday, in part as a response to Mr. Obama’s address to the Arab world last week in Cairo.
Israel’s Channel One TV reported that Netanyahu was told Tuesday by an “American official” in Jerusalem that, “We are going to change the world. Please, don’t interfere.” The report said Netanyahu’s aides interpreted this as a “threat.”
Netanyahu met with George Mitchell today for four hours in Jerusalem. The State Department announced this afternoon that Mitchell will be stopping in Beirut and Damascus when he finishes his visits to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
(YWN Desk / CBS News)
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22 Responses
Hitler Y”S was also going to change the world……. and the West threw Czechoslovakia to the wolves in the hope of satisfying Hitler Y”S. It didn’t work and neither will throwing the West Bank to the Pallies. The Democrats are scaring me……….
whether obama meant to be insulting towards israel and the jewish people is irrelevant here (although i highly suspect that to be the truth). the issue here is that this arrogant, audacious president takes everything that’s holy to the american citizen and mocks it. first it was his jacket, and everyone said, “oh, big deal!” now this, and noone says anything??? the story should read, “THE AMERICANS ARE OUTRAGED BY THE ARROGANT BEHAVIOR OF THE PRESIDENT IN THE OVAL OFFICE”!!!! in my house, if any of my children would put a shoe on the table they’d get the looks!! He’s either arrogant, defiant or just not cultured enough to know that shoes belong on feet!!! what a shame!!! And – – -he’s our president!!!!!
Much ado about nothing – Silly, norishkeit at best – deliberately inflamatory at best. None of you put your feet up on the desk when on the phone? Really . . . get a life
geshmak – you are one hundred percent right!!! soon it’ll be too late for all those open-minded people to see it straight!!!! unfortunately, history is repeating itself and we’re not even learning so that we should try to avoid it. some people are so open-minded that their brains fell out!!! wake up people!! Uri Uri yeshainah!!
Most of us are not outraged, #2.
Reasonable people in good faith can have different opinions. I happen to be of the opinion that Obama’s policy’s are in the long-range interest of Israel and the war against terror.
I am sure, for example, that the President knows well the intolerant and hostile posture of much of the Muslim world, even as in Cairo last week he talks of a “peaceful” Muslim tradition.
Last week he was speaking before a moderate immediate audience, and his real intended audience was the secular Arab governments who may be dictatorial in most cases, but who also are decidedly anti-jihadist. What he is
trying to do, I believe, is to drive a wedge between the jihadists and those more moderate governments, a wedge effective enough and large
enough that they will be able to come on board the anti-extremist cause in a meaningful way.
Bush made this impossible – his bellicosity and rhetoric made it impossible for one like Egypt’s President Mubarak, for example, to openly support us without risking a revolution. I think Obama is trying to change that.
In Pakistan this month we see the public supporting a strong military assault against the Taliban, whose excesses have radically altered public opinion. A similar thing happened among the Sunni in Iraq; former resistance groups now aligned with us and the Iraqi government because of Al Queida excesses.
It is possible to change public opinion – and I think the U.S. is trying to effect the opinion of the Muslim “man-on-the-street” to our benefit. I hope it works.
But I doubt you see it possible for anyone to have an honest difference of opinion with you on these issues – certainly not if he talks with his feet on the desk.
(Written with keyboard on my lap and feet on my desk)
“It is considered an insult in the Arab world to show the sole of your shoe to someone. It is not a Jewish custom necessarily, but Israel feels enough a part of the Middle East after 60 years to be insulted too.”
Hellllllloooooooo……..that’s exactly why he is showing the soles of his shoes, not because of our customs, but because of his customs. Notice the pose too. The shoes are correctly angled as to not cover his face. Also, notice the shoes are featured “larger” than his face – all-the-more making the insult BIGGER! Imaging a different angel – let’s say the picture was taken with a profile angle. Would it be as insulting? What do you think?
It is an insult. In the Arab world the shoe in the face is the greatest insult one can do. But, it also shows the Obamanation’s total arrogance to Israel. Don’t worry, there is a G-d in heaven Who is watching every move he makes and listens to every word he utters…. Hashem is patient and has a long memory to boot.
This is a case of making a mountain out of a molehill. If he puts his shoes on the desk, but then supports Israel, does it matter? And if Obama doesn’t support Israel and doesn’t put his shoes on the desk, does it matter?
Not that Obama is not totally messing up bad enough on his own, but this picture and article are inflammatory and provoking. Am I to believe someone happened to be that close to the desk to take a picture because Obama put his feet up ONLY while talking to Netanyahu? This whole “story” is highly suspicious and only fanning flames that already exist. We saw similar “set-ups” with a Bush picture showing a much larger than life tear flowing down his cheek.
The media is as defunct as our economy.
“You are lower than the bottom of my left shoe,” is the curse in the Arabish world. Obama showed us…Now, we should take the hint and turn our backs on him.
King Barack Hussein Ibn Barack Hussein knows darn well thjat showing the sole of your shoe to someone is a lewd arabic curse.
America elected a foul ill mannered uncouth gutter person as president. It is well known that G.W. Bush never entered the oval office without a jacket, lhavdil like we who put on a hat and jacket to talk to a gadol on the phone and stand as if we were in the presence of the gadol
His socks don’t match his suit
The real question is why Obama let such a photo be released of him like that?
The editor got a point that it was done intentionally
Is this the first time he spoke to a President or Prime Minister by phone with his feet on the desk, and had his picture taken? Any way of checking that out?
Wolffman – #3 & #5
How dare you say anything even mildly pro-Obama on this website! Comments like yours are strictly prohibited – even if they make perfect sense.
Ummm, I told you so:
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=35360
“Perhaps the Pres was actually continuing with his support of the Arab/Muslim world by showing his antipathy toward the PM. Remember, pointing the souls of your shoes at a person is an insult in the ME.
Comment by chezzyzee — June 9, 2009 @ 1:53 pm”
Barrack Hussain allowed that photo to be taken. He gave the word. Therefore, that was not a candid shot, it was posed. Barrack Hussain lived for several years in Indonesia – a moslem country. He attended a maddrassa for several years. He knowns the customs quite well. There clearly was a symbolic message being sent. In the ME the symbol is to show one’s shoes. In the US, it is to show one’s middle finger. Same intent.
Common Sense, Wolffman and all the other appologists for Barrack Hussain. There were Jews in Germany who searched for some sign that Hitler’s policies would benefit the countery and Jews in the long run. Some would kindly call this rationalization process wishful thinking. Others would call in idiocy!
# 15 – My profound apologies – after I stop laughing. Thanks
Why does anybody care!? Its shoes… on a desk. Say that out loud and listen to how ridiculous it sounds. It just simply shows that he treats this as a real job not just some figure head that does nothing. I thought YWN was meant for news not petty political critiques.
It can be very reasonably argued that the US pesidents that were the best for Israel were two who weren’t considered to be much better than Obama at the time. In hindsight, their accomplishments did more for Israel’s security than any other’s. The treaty with Egypt ended the two front attack, and the treaty with Jordan took care of the longest border.These were negotiated by Carter and Clinton. What did Bush accomplish with his empty words?
I live in Israel and I once worked in an office and one of the women was a sephardi lady. I recall she really didn’t like one of the other women there (who was from the US). At one point the sephardi woman told me that she felt the American was disrespectful and too informal etc. One example she gave was that she showed the bottom of her shoes in the office (I think she put her feet up etc) Another time in a spehardi shul I put one leg over another but in the way that my show was up and out to the public. The gabbai told me – put down your foot – it is disrespectful.
So there are cultural norms….Obama may or may not have known about this, but it makes sense to me that many Israelis would not like this picture.
sorry common sense but there is no sense to #3 & #5. #3 actually i would only put my feet up on a desk if i was talking down to somebody bosses do it to their workers not freinds, sorry. #5 hamas doesn’t agree with you and instead sees it as going in the right direction (see later ywn article)