Netanyahu freezes appointment of spokesman who accused Obama of anti-Semitism
Ran Baratz apologizes to Netanyahu for not telling him about the Facebook posts prior to his appointment; PM distances himself from comments by new adviser who suggested Obama anti-Semitic.
Netanyahu on Thursday night froze Ran Baratz’s appointment as his new media chief after past Facebook posts he had written insulting US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry became headline fodder around the world.
Baratz had described Obama actions as “modern anti-Semitism,” referred to Kerry as someone “whose mental age doesn’t exceed 12” and charged that President Reuven Rivlin is unworthy to hold office.
The posts threatened to cast a pall on Netanyahu’s visit to Washington next week, when he is scheduled to hold his first face-to-face meeting with Obama in a year.
The two leaders are expected to attempt to heal some of the wounds from their acrimonious battle over the Iran deal, which both men now want to put behind them.
Netanyahu said he had not known about Baratz’s comments prior to announcing his appointment as his new head of public diplomacy and media.
“Those posts are totally unacceptable and in no way reflect my positions or the policies of the government of Israel,” the prime minister said.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Netanyahu-distances-himself-from-comments-by-new-adviser-who-suggested-Obama-anti-Semitic-432191
