How much would it cost to buy Netanyahu out of office?
Israeli activist launches crowdsourcing project aiming to pay the prime minister to step down.
By JPOST.COM STAFFPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he give an address(photo credit: REUTERS)
Crowdsourcing for a coup?One fed-up Israeli hopes to harness the power of the online fundraising community in an attempt to de-throne "King Bibi" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by "purchasing the prime minister's seat."Initiated by Bar Simon, a self-described "young student tired of the current situation," the far-fetched enterprise had garnered 66 backers as of Thursday and raised more than NIS 8,500 of the target sum of NIS 2 million using the "creative investment" platform Headstart.With that money, Simon aims to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down from his second and current term in office.According to the fundraiser's mission statement, the coup attempt was spurred by a supposed shift in Israeli attitude toward the government in light of stagnant diplomacy and politics."I suggest you join me in our last attempt, meaning the last privilege of saying we tried everything," the venture's description states. "All we have to do, is collect the stated amount of funds, and go to prime minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and say to him - take it. Take it and go."Simon, who has pledged the next month of his life toward achieving the cause, reassured potential virtual financiers that funds would only be withdrawn if the target amount is reached.Otherwise, he has a contingency plan - keep trying.There are still 27 days left in the project's pledge period, but the country does not seem to be jumping at the chance to find out whether Netanyahu is willing to trade his six-year premiership for the equivalent of $515,000.