Appointment of communications director for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being reviewed by the prime minister himself.
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Much of the furor has centered on a Facebook post Baratz made about Israel’s largely ceremonial but much-admired President Reuven Rivlin.
Netanyahu again drew the ire of Democrats by appointing a chief spokesman, Ran Baratz, who previously accused Obama of anti-Semitism and mocked Secretary of State John Kerry’s intelligence.
Commenting on Obama’s criticism of Netanyahu’s anti-Iran deal speech to Congress, Baratz wrote in a March 3 Facebook post, according to the Times of Israel, “Allow me to diverge from my usual moderate ways and be a bit blunt”. Secretary of State John Kerry, who spoke to Netanyahu about the affair, said Baratz’s comments were “troubling and offensive”.
As a writer for Mida, the Israeli conservative online publication he founded, Baratz wrote following Obama’s reelection in 2012 that the US president was “pro-Arab, anti-Israel”. “Dr Baratz has apologised and has asked to meet me to clarify the matter following my return to Israel” says Netanyahu in a statement.
Netanyahu’s office announced Baratz’s appointment Wednesday night as the premier’s head of public diplomacy and media, and Israeli news sites have since dug up a string of comments he has made.
Mr Baratz’s appointment continues to be subject and a number of ministers have said they’ll oppose it. He will not be accompanying Mr Netanyahu, who called the posts “totally unacceptable” to Washington.
Baratz posted a separate remark on Facebook under a screen grab of a TV interview with Daniella Weiss, a Jewish settler leader.
The trip provides an important opportunity for the Prime Minister to heal a few of the damage he caused to the US-Israel relationship in his effort to defeat the Iran nuclear deal.
They said that the administration has become “realistic” that there might not even be negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials before Obama leaves office.
Ran Baratz’s apology came just days before Netanyahu and Obama meet at the White House.
In addition, the 42-year-old resident of a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank supported calls in 2004 for the construction of a new Jewish temple at the extremely sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
The statement comes as Obama prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Monday.
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However, the president said Mr Netanyahu offered no viable alternatives “to the core issue, which is how do we prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon”. His comments were published previous to his appointment. Two Cabinet ministers urged him to reconsider. “This man, with his words dripping with poison, his mouth is our mouth now”, wrote satirist Mika Almog in the Yediot Ahronoth daily. Another Netanyahu spokesman deals with foreign press.
