Israeli media, including this publication, insistently reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu pushed his way into the front row of a rally commemorating the victims of last week’s terror attacks, whereas PA President Abbas was given a prize spot walking next to Germany’s Merkel.
All the reports flew in the face of a Paris Match piece saying the places in the front row were decided in advance.
The reports were apparently based on a mixture of misunderstanding video clips from the rally and some Israeli pundits’ deep-seated political animosity to the Likud leader.
But there was one (former) world leader who actually did push his way to the front: Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy then found a place between Netanyahu and Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. A hashtag, #JeSuisNico, ridicules Sarkozy for the move.
The French Brain magazine responded with a meme consisting of pasting Sarkozy into historical events from the landing on the moon to the fall of the Berlin wall.
It’s possible Sarkozy’s struggle into the front row included some “elbowing” involving Netanyahu, and this was gleefully pounced upon by the prime minister’s critics in Israel.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 12, 2015
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