Gillermania!
Dan Gillerman, outgoing Israeli ambassador to the UN, is always good for a sound-bite. Here are a couple of highlights from an interview in yesterday’s NYT:
You recently called Jimmy Carter a “bigot” after he met with Khaled Meshal, the head of Hamas. Is it true you were reprimanded by the U.S. State Department? There was no complaint or reprimand. The only reaction I received was very positive.
The Bush administration, it seems, has not done much to advance the Mideast peace process. Would you agree? I think the key is in the Arab world. The Palestinians’ real tragedy is that they have not been able to produce a Nelson Mandela. Every single day, Muslims are killed by Muslims. You do not see a single Muslim leader get up and say, “Enough is enough.” It’s nearly as if we live in a world where if Christians kill Muslims, it’s a crusade. If Jews kill Muslims, it’s a massacre. And when Muslims kill Muslims, it’s the Weather Channel. Nobody cares.
You are about to be replaced at the U.N. by Gabriela Shalev, a law professor at Ono Academic College with no experience as a diplomat. Can any regular person be a diplomat? I’m sure Gaby will do great. Diplomacy is not something you can learn at school or in the foreign service. A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell and actually make you look forward to the journey.
I’ll miss this guy.
About the Author
Elder of Ziyon may or may not be a real person. He (or she, or it) blogs at http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/Filed Under: General
Everyone will. Dan Gillerman is a man among men.
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OK, that last quote (“…who can tell you to go to hell and actually make you look forward to the journey”) is really a cliché. I’ve heard that same formulation used before over the last several years.
The second one, however, is really witty. It’s a shame that he has to be outgoing. He’s probably been the most personable ambassador since Abba Eban. Israelis present such a poor public image, that when you get one with genuine intelligence and wit, it’s a real treat. Why does he have to go?
“Considering the long and illustrious history of the Persians, isn’t it unlikely that the Iranians would ever do anything reckless with nuclear weapons?”
is there anything more stupid than a NYT journalist?
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