Israel’s Applause-O-Meter
Here is the applause-o-meter from last night’s President’s Conference at the Jerusalem Convention Center honoring 60 years of American-Israeli friendship. There were several thousand people in the hall, many of whom were participants in the conference, as well as many Israelis with connections to American think tanks and organizations; and many American citizens.
The applause-o-meter is ranked in numbers from 1 to 10 with 1 being extreme dissatisfaction and 10 being extreme adulation.
Peres walks up to the stage: 9 out of 10 [Most Israelis feel here is at least one politician they can look up to, largely because he is no longer an actual politician but a real leader]
Olmert walks up to the stage: 5 out of 10 [Prime Minister embroiled in at least 4 police investigations; and is deeply unpopular]
Olmert says in his speech that he hopes a peace agreement with the Palestinians along the lines of the Annapolis process by the end of 2008: 2 out of 10 [almost nobody in the crowd believed him, this was quite an awkward moment in Olmert's speech, palpable lack of applause]
Peres mentions the following US Presidents as having dramatic influence on Israel’s fledgling history:
Truman, who recognized Israel 11 minutes after Ben-Gurion declared independence: 10 out of 10
Kennedy: Asked Ben Gurion how he could best help Israel, and Ben Gurion told him, “Be a good American President” 8 out of 10
Eisenhower: Who was a good friend to Israel: 8 out of 10
Nixon: Who sent arms and ammunition to Israel in the Yom Kippur War and was the first US President to invite an Israeli PM to the White House: 8 out of 10
Carter: Who godfathered the vital peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, but has recently written a book called Palestine: Peace not Apartheid and met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal: 5 out of 10. [Many people appreciated his efforts to broker the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab nation but since then Carter's coin has plummeted in the eyes of the Bush administration and the Olmert government].
George Bush Senior: Helped smuggle Ethiopians Jews out of Sudan and gave loan guarantees to absorb them in Israel: 7 out of 10.
Sheldon Adelson [the world's richest Jew] and his wife walk up to the stage [6 out of 10]. Mrs. Adelson calls Jerusalem “Israel’s eternal, beloved, and undivided capital” [7 out of 10: many in Condoleezza Rice's circle didn't clap]
Bush walks onto the podium: 10 out of 10 – sustained standing ovation.
Bush ends his speech saying: God bless Israel and God bless America [10 out of 10]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: America, Bush, Israel, Olmert, Peres
My StumbleUpon Page
No mention of the interpretive dance? Who knew that Israel and America were a biracial gay couple?
1- Harry, you’re cute. 2- Peres not a politician? When he stops breathing. 3- Truman forgot Israel 3 seconds after recognition. 4- Eisenhower a friend of Israel’s? Hmmm….Anyone remember his threats to BG in ‘57? His Sect. of State didn’t even hide his annoyance and disdain for Israel’s existence. 5- Kennedy did one good thing. He turned a semi-blind eye at our nuclear program. 6- LBJ left out. He was the first to make real arms sales and economic aid to Israel and had an authentic affection that he employed during ‘67 in relations with the Soviets. 7- Nixon was a anti-Semite who played with our survival in ‘73, manipulating the fight between Henry and Shleshinger over re-arming and only coming through just before it was too late. 8- Carter? Much can be said about the ‘peace’ with Egypt. But he lost Jewish vote vs Reagan because of the Andrew Young/Palestine/UN affair. 9- Reagan? Remember the Rogers Plan? Halibi in Lebanon? Osirak? 10- Bush1? Used those loan credits as a club and hated us for Osirak. Both grandfather’s set-u and financed the Nazi Schroeder Bank and had slave labor in Aushwitz and established an $80,000.000 trust fund for his kids from its profits. 11- Clinton? Made palsy walsy with Arafat and pushed us to give away the store. 12- Bush2-? Prestidigitation. It’s what you can’t see, what he’s hiding that’s important. Lebanon War #2 was his gift to us. 13- Peres? Sold his soul to Mitterand, our good buddy. He sold out his Labor collegues with a frequency that caused whiplash. Enough said.