King Bibi for a day: golden Netanyahu statue is toppled [View all]
Source: The Guardian
The statue, installed overnight as a political statement against the PM, is taken away from Rabin Square on Tuesday
Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem
Tuesday 6 December 2016 06.25 EST
The nickname King Bibi for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long been in circulation. It refers to his reputed imperial tendencies, his political gifts and his taste for fine living.
Now the conceit has been given a new currency via the sudden – if brief - appearance of a large golden statue of Netanyahu in Tel Aviv’s most famous square, satirising the prime minister’s years in office and the allegations of scandal that have surrounded the management of his household. Appearing unexpectedly overnight in Rabin Square, the statue, on a white plinth, attracted the attention of scores of residents who waited to take selfies. But Netanyahu’s ministers, rushing to denounce the guerrilla art installation, made clear they were not amused.
Leading the charge against the sculptor, Itay Zalait, was the culture minister, Miri Regev, a leading figure in the right’s culture war against Israeli artists deemed left-wing or too elite. She denounced the statue as an “expression of hatred towards Netanyahu”. For their part, Tel Aviv municipal officials ordered Zalait to remove the statue and said they would haul it away and fine him if he refused.
Zalait, who had said the installation depicted “the situation we find ourselves in”, complied, inviting Israelis to help “topple Netanyahu” from his plinth. It was a task which they dutifully carried out, with pictures later showing the statue on its side.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/06/king-bibi-netanyahu-statue-attacked-by-israeli-culture-minister
Poor Bibi. But more importantly, poor us. At least in Israel, those who took down the statue will remain free; when Trrump starts putting up his gold statues, it's be a treasonous offense to remove them!
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