By MAURICE OSTROFFUpdated: APRIL 1, 2018 13:56
On June 2, the Jerusalem Post reported that Wikipedia Israel has decided to retain an item about PM Netanyahu's controversial remarks about Arab voters on election day, in a video on FacebookAlthough the Jerusalem Post stated that Netanyahu said "Arabs are going to the polls in droves," he did not actually use the Hebrew equivalent for droves. He spoke of large numbers as correctly translated in the controversial Wikipedia statement which correctly reads
"On election day, Netanyahu made a public statement, claiming the right-wing government is in danger. Arab voters are going in droves to the polls. Left-wing organizations are bringing them on buses. We only have you, Go to the polls, bring your friends and family, vote Likud to close the gap between us and Labor Zionist Union. With your help and God’s help, we will form a nationalist government that will protect the State of Israel."
Although I didn’t vote for Netanyahu I am disturbed by lack of important context in the media, leading to half-truthful but misleading reports about anyone, including the Israeli prime minister. What Netanyahu actually said in an electioneering speech is hardly worth a comment. He did nothing more than urge his supporters to vote Likud in order to close the gap with Labor because Arab voters [who would not vote for him] were being driven to the polls in buses in large numbers.OBJECTIVELY, there is no justification for the wide negative reporting of this statement internationally and the repeated references to it by President Obama. Surely Netanyahu's call on his supporters to go to the polls is less remarkable than First Lady, Michelle Obama’s urging African Americans in 2014 to vote for Democrats REGARDLESS OF THE MERITS OR DEMERITS OF THE CANDIDATES when she told “NewsOne Now”
“.. a Democratic ticket is the clear ticket that we should be voting on, regardless of who said what or did this. That shouldn’t even come into the equation.”
Nor was Netanyahu’s electioneering call on voters any more remarkable than Ed Miliband urging “voters tempted to vote for the Scottish National Party to remain with Labour to get Prime Minister David Cameron out of Downing Street” and “the Conservatives campaign against the dangers of a Labour-SNP deal.President Obama's criticism of Netanyahu in his widely publicized interview with Atlantic columnist Jeffrey Goldberg may be viewed here http://www.maurice-ostroff.org/?page_id=2465 and here http://www.maurice-ostroff.org/?page_id=2487