Penes, Pense, Spence: MKs get their Pence in a twist
Lawmakers mangle vice president’s name as they tweet welcomes and warnings at him
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
Pence. P-E-N-C-E. Those five simple letters have managed to tangle up more than one Knesset member in the past day, as they’ve run to welcome or warn the US vice president, who is making his first visit to Israel since taking national office.
Likud troublemaker Oren Hazan was among the first to wish the vice president well upon landing in Israel Sunday night, welcoming “Mike Penes” to Israel.
“I hope nobody will disturb us with our selfie,” the Likud lawmaker tweeted, alluding to the notorious picture he took with US President Donald Trump on the Ben-Gurion tarmac last year.
Mr. Vice President Mike Penes, my friend, Welcome to our holy land.
I would like to apologize I was not able to welcome you at the airport. I'll be waiting for you in Jerusalem, our eternal capital.
I Hope nobody will disturb us with our selfie.
— אורן חזן (@oren_haz) January 21, 2018
On that occasion, Hazan pushed himself into the official Israeli welcome lineup and kept Trump waiting while he fiddled with his cellphone.
Likud member Anat Berko welcomed the vice president and his wife as “true friends of Israel,” but managed to mistake Pence with parody account Michael Pense.
ברוכים הבאים לירושלים בירת ישראל, סגן נשיא ארה"ב מייקל פנס ורעייתו הגב׳ קארן פנס. ידידיי אמת לישראל!
Welcome to Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Israel, Vice President of the US of America, @Michael_Pense and his lovely wife Karen S. Pence. True friends of Israel! pic.twitter.com/AYmxOTcNPs
— Dr. Anat Berko | ד''ר ענת ברקו (@drAnatBerko) January 22, 2018
Yousef Jabareen, of the Joint (Arab) List, who plans to boycott the speech with the rest of his faction because of US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, tweeted that the speech to be delivered by Mike “Spence” would be “another nail in the coffin of peace.”
Mike Spence’s speech in the Knesset today is another nail in the coffin of peace, and a disgraceful support to annexation, colonization and the continued occupation of Palestine.
— Yousef Jabareen (@DrJabareen) January 22, 2018
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