Netanyahu jokes he may sue Yahoo

He’s like a vaguely embarrassing family member whose presence we‘ve come to find reassuring, corny jokes and all. Of course we’re talking about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who appears to be developing a propensity for unfettered, groan-inducing quips, either planned or off-the-cuff, during otherwise highly dignified international functions.

He’s riffed on yellowcake (yum!), and inspired generations of meme-makers with tales of the mythical nuclear duck. And last week, at the World Economic Forum’s annual meet in Davos, Switzerland, he extolled Israel’s agro-tech prowess in uniquely colorful terms: “It’s a computerized cow. Every ‘moo’ is computerized and we increased the productivity.”

Netahyahu was in top form.

While he wasn’t regaling the crowd in Davos with the start-up nation’s latest exploits, Israel’s fearless leader rubbed shoulders with some of the world’s top executives, including Yahoo’s CEO, Marissa Mayer, whom he met on Wednesday.

A clip from the Prime Minister’s Office showed Netanyahu shaking hands with Mayer and then adding sheepishly: “By the way, I wanted to tell you that I thought of taking you to court for the trademark on the name — Netanyahu-Yahoo, of course.”

According to an official statement, he also said that “Powers were once measured by their size, but today they are measured by their number of unique users. I want you to enlarge your presence in Israel and we want to expand our partnership with you.”

During their conversation, Mayer surprised Netanyahu with the news that she had scheduled a July trip to Israel, where she may or may not be made to face a lawsuit for trademark infringement.