Congrats from PM, singing cat, parrot

“How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together!” sing an animated cat and parrot in an Independence Day video greeting released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

The digital animals repeat the verses, one after another, in a harmonizing fashion.

The animation follows a more traditional, if generally light-hearted greeting from Netanyahu, wishing all of Israel’s citizens a happy Independence Day.

“Over the next few days, we will take part in recreational activities… such as our national holiday — grilling — and I, too, will partake in that pastime,” he says in the clip, sent out by the Prime Minister’s Office and posted on YouTube.

“We can be happy for all that we have achieved over our wonderful years since achieving independence,” he continues, in more serious mode. “A strong army, a robust economy, ground-breaking technology that is exported throughout the world and is part of many computers, smart phones, and operating rooms.”

He calls the country a work in progress, and one he vows to improve: “This is only the beginning; we have a lot more to do… I will do everything so that the 65th Independence Day is even better: complete the fence around the southern border, install more Iron Dome batteries, establish free education from the age of 3, and reduce the cost of living — all so that next year we can celebrate in security and happiness.”

And he ends with the biblical phrase, “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together,” which is then taken up by the animated creatures.

The prime minister’s incorporation of animation into his video picks up on the treatment afforded Netanyahu’s speech to AIPAC last month, in which he likened a nuclear Iran to a nuclear duck. Set to music by one “Kotigaro” and with ducks aplenty popping up on screen, it drew substantial traffic on YouTube.