Some choice as Foreign Minister

"Imagine a country that appoints someone who has been found guilty of striking a 12-year-old boy to be its foreign minister. The person in question is also under investigation for money-laundering, fraud and breach of trust; in addition, he was a bona fide member of an outlawed racist party and currently leads a political party that espouses fascist ideas. On top of all this, he does not even reside in the country he has been chosen to represent.

Even though such a portrayal may appear completely outlandish, Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, actually fits the above depiction to the letter."

So begins a piece by Neve Gordon in The Guardian.

What makes the piece so compelling [read it, here, in full] is that the newly appointed FM for Israel is so unsuitable to be appointed to the position that one can readily see the direction the new Government will take despite the new PM's talk about peace with the Palestinians. Pipe dream would seem to be the appropriate appellation! And then there has to be question how foreign governments will receive Lieberman. Remember, too, that Israel withdrew its ambassador from Austria when it had Joerg Haider as its extreme right leader.

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Mahler's Prodigal Son

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