Netanyahu to ‘review’ media chief appointment who called Obama anti-Semitic

Last month he wrote a post on Facebook after it emerged that President Reuven Rivlin flew economy class on his flight home from a state visit to the Czech Republic.

Baratz also referred to US Secretary of State John Kerry as someone “whose mental age doesn’t exceed 12”.

His comments about USA officials including the president and Secretary Kerry we believe were troubling and offensive. “We obviously expect government officials from any country, especially our closest allies, to speak respectfully and truthfully about senior USA government officials”, State Department spokesman John Kirby said, Reuters reported.

As a writer for Mida, the Israeli conservative online publication he founded, Baratz wrote following Obama’s reelection in 2012 that the US president was “pro-Arab, anti-Israel”. “They are not worthy and don’t reflect my position or the policy of my government”, Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu’s office later issued a statement saying that Baratz had apologised for his comments, adding that the prime minister would meet with him after returning from the USA next week.

Netanyahu’s choice of Ran Baratz was pounced on by Israeli news media and the political opposition, which quickly combed through his social media posts and past articles to find a string of provocative opinions that were anything but diplomatic.

Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, seemed to try to tamp down the Baratz tempest on Thursday, saying that it was “readily apparent that the apology was warranted”.

Baratz, who lives in a West Bank settlement, also expressed support in 2004 for the construction of a third Jewish temple on what is now the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, where two destroyed biblical temples once stood.

Also on the agenda next week is the bloody civil war in Syria and Iran’s involvement there, Iran, and the “two-state” solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I am sorry that I did not tell the prime minister about these things in advance.

Netanyahu and Obama are on account of meet to attempt to mend fences after fierce feuding over the Iran nuclear deal that Israel opposes. The prime minister’s office said Netanyahu would review the appointment upon his return from Washington. “I asked the prime minister for a meeting to clarify the comments in the coming days”.

Speaking to Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic, Carter said that the United States “can or will maintain” Israel’s military edge equivalent to “the sum of all Sunnis” in the region.

Dr Baratz posted a separate remark on Facebook under a screen grab of a TV interview with Daniella Weiss, a Jewish settler leader. “These postings were written hastily and sometimes humorously, in a manner appropriate for a private person writing on the Internet”, Baratz said. While Netanyahu distanced himself from the comments, he indicated the appointment is still valid, however. They said Netanyahu’s very public and vocal criticism of the deal doesn’t change the unique relationship the two countries share.

Baratz told Channel 2 News that his comments about Rivlin were meant to be satirical. The Israeli Cabinet still has to approve his appointment.