Abbas calls US Ambassador to Israel a ‘son of a bitch,’ ambassador accuses Abbas of antisemitism

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday called the U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman a “son of a bitch,” and referred to him and his family as “settlers” during a meeting with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah, further straining the rift between the Palestinian officials and the White House.

Abbas’ insults came hours after Friedman chided the Palestinian president over social media for his silence following an attack on two Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank on Friday. Cpt. Ziv Daos, 20, and Sgt. Netanel Kahalani, 21, were killed when Palestinian Ala Qabha, 20, rammed his car into a military site. In response to the deadly encounter, Friedman, who has made previous comments condemning the killings of Israelis, posted Monday morning:

The ambassador seemingly struck a nerve as Abbas told senior Palestinian officials, “David Friedman, a son of a bitch, is a settler and his family are settlers and he serves as the American ambassador in Tel Aviv,” reported the Palestinian outlet Arab48.

The controversy continued into the late afternoon when Friedman made a statement at a conference in Israel, suggesting Abbas’ comment was antisemitic.

“I saw his response on my iPhone. His response was to refer to me as son of a dog. Is that anti-Semitism or political discourse? I leave that up to you,” Friedman said. 

Before Friedman took over the post as ambassador to Israel he was a bankruptcy lawyer for President Donald Trump and was the president of the American Friends of Beit El Institutions, a fundraising group for an Israeli settlement of the same name.

Abbas also mocked the White House for hosting a forum on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza last Tuesday with 29 nations in attendance, but did not include Palestinian leaders.

“Now the Americans wake up to supporting Gaza after 11 years, we have full responsibility over this sector,” Abbas said.

The Ramallah meeting of Abbas’ leadership council was ordered to discuss an assassination attempt on the Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and the head of security Majd Faraj that took place in Gaza last week when the officials were due to met with Hamas leaders over stagnated reconciliation talks. The roadside bomb exploded on the prime minister’s convoy on Tuesday, no party claimed responsibility. Hamdallah and Faraj survived the blasts that injured six.

A damaged vehicle of the convoy of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah is seen after an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip March 13, 2018. Hamdallah cut short a rare visit to Gaza on Tuesday after an explosion targeted his convoy, a source in the delegation said. The premier, who was not hurt, left Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing shortly after opening a wastewater treatment facility, the source said. (Photo: Ashraf Amra/APA Images)

After the motorcade was targeted Hamas closed the offices of two West Bank mobile phone firms operating in Gaza and detained employees for questioning reportedly over tracking the owners of SIM cards who were allegedly involved in plotting the bombing.

But Abbas is not waiting for the results of the inquiry. Today he blamed Hamas for the attack and said, “If the assassination had succeeded, it would have disastrous consequences for the Palestinian people and open the way for a bloody and civil war.”

Abbas announced coming sanctions on Gaza.

“As the president of the Palestinian people who bears the brunt of reconciliation with Hamas, I decided to take national, financial and legal measures,” he said.

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… “I saw his response on my iPhone. His response was to refer to me as son of a dog. Is that anti-Semitism or political discourse? I leave that up to you,” Friedman said. …

It’s definitely not anti-Semitism and it’s not as accurate as referring to Friedman as “the opening at the end of the alimentary canal”.

And it’s not political discourse either, but neither is Friedman’s suggestion that the northern West Bank and (East) Jerusalem are in Israel.

How could a bankruptcy lawyer for Donald Trump be anything but a son of a bitch?

How does this stack up to be Antisemitic.

If someone called a Catholic male a Sonofabitch , would that be Anticatholic.

In any event , it would have been far better to call him a “thieving , illegal squatter and participant in Apartheid and oppression.

RE: “Tragedy in Israel. 2 young soldiers, Netanel Kahalani and Ziv Daos, murdered in the North [of the occupied West Bank – J.L.D.], and father of 4, Adiel Kolman, murdered in Jerusalem [i.e., occupied East Jerusalem ~ J.L.D.], by Palestinian terrorists [i.e. Palestinian militants] ~ J.L.D.]. Such brutality and no condemnation from the PA! I pray for the families and the wounded – so much sadness.” ~ Friedman

MY COMMENT : I agree with Friedman. The PA should have vigorously condemned the government of Israel for sacrificing these soldiers in order to continue the occupation in violation of international law. We should all pray for the families and the wounded – so much sadness as a consequence of the senseless, illegal occupation!

TONY KLUG IN 1977:

While Israel continues to rule over the West Bank, there are bound to be ever more frequent and more intensive acts of resistance by a population that is feeling encroached upon by a spreading pattern of Jewish colonization and whose yearning for independence is no less than was that of the Palestinian Jews in the early months of 1948. As long as Israel continues to govern that territory, she will have little choice but to retaliate in an increasingly offensive fashion just to keep order. The moral appeal of Israel’s case will consequently suffer and this will further erode her level of international support, although probably not among organized opinion within the Jewish Diaspora. This sharpening polarization is bound to contribute to an upsurge in overt antisemitism. ~ from Tony Klug’s pamphlet published in January 1977

Source: “Israel’s neverending occupation is bringing ‘infamy’ to Jews worldwide, making Jewish life ‘precarious’ — Tony Klug” ~ http://www.war-times.org/es/israel%E2%80%99s-neverending-occupation-bringing-%E2%80%98infamy%E2%80%99-jews-worldwide-making-jewish-life-%E2%80%98precarious%E2%80%99-%E2%80%94

STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE’S NETANYAHU’S ORIFICE:
Netanyahu: “We Will Forever Live By The Sword”, Indefinitely Control All Palestinian Territory | By IMEMC News | October 27, 2015

[EXCERPT] Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced his plan to control “all of the territory” and “live forever by the sword.”

The remarks were reported in Haa’retz newspaper, according to PNN, in an article by journalist Barak Ravid.

Mr Ravid wrote: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that although he doesn’t want a binational state, “at this time we need to control all of the territory for the foreseeable future.”

MKs who took part in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting – today (Monday) – reportedly told Mr Ravid that Netanyahu had turned to the politicians present and said: “You think there is a magic wand here, but I disagree. I’m asked if we will forever live by the sword – yes.” . . .

SOURCE – http://www.mintpressnews.com/netanyahu-we-will-forever-live-by-the-sword-indefinitely-control-all-palestinian-territory/210700/

“Netanyahu: I Don’t Want a Binational State, but We Need to Control All of the Territory for the Foreseeable Future” | By Barak Ravid | Haaretz.com | Oct 26, 2015
• ‘I’m asked if we will forever live by the sword – yes,’ says prime minister.
LINK – https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium–1.5413500

Seems a pretty inaccurate description of a man operating in a position of conflicting interests and leaning towards self enrichment.

Heck I’d call him worse.