You Don't Say: Netanyahu's brother-in-law calls Obama "anti-Semitic"

Dr. Hagi Ben-Artzi, the outspoken brother-in-law of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, called US President Barack Obama an anti-Semite.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Ben-Artzi also blamed the Jews who contributed to his election. "It's sad for me to say that those 78% of American Jews who voted for Obama are disconnected from their heritage and from Israel," Ben-Artzi said. "They are indifferent to Israel and they want to be more American than American. Israel can't count on those Jews being pro-Israel."

Ben-Artzi, who like his brother-in-law has a close relationship with American Evangelical Christians, said he felt more comfortable with them than with most American Jewish groups. "We must face the reality that not only is the American government not with us but so are most of the Jews in America," Ben-Artzi said. "We can face this challenge because God is with us, and God gave us the Christian evangelists who we can really rely on to make up for the American Jews who are not friends of Israel. I think Bibi agrees with me on this."

Netanyahu's spokesman said a statement sharply distancing the Prime Minister from his brother-in-law's remarks about the "anti-semitic" character of Obama on Army Radio Wednesday morning also applied to his comments to the Post about American Jews and Christians. "I completely disagree with the statements of Hagi Ben-Artzi," Netanyahu said. "I have deep respect for the president's commitment to Israel's security."

In Wednesday's Army Radio interview, Ben-Artzi said his brother-in-law was well aware that Obama had anti-Semitic views. "Unfortunately, there is an anti-Semitic president in America," he said. "As a politician who ran for president, he had to hide it, but from time to time, it bursts out from inside. It's creating a difficult situation for Israel, but we won't even consider giving up on our deep interests."

Ben-Artzi went on to say that it wasn't that Obama wasn't a friend of Netanyahu, he just wasn't a friend of Israel. "For 20 years he sat with the preacher Jeremiah Wright, who is anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli," he said. "When an anti-Semitic president comes to power in America, it is our test, and we must say: 'We will not give up. We are a 4,000-year-old people, while you will pass on and disappear in one or two years. Who will remember you?"

He called on Netanyahu to continue to follow the path of the seven prime ministers elected since the Six Day War.
"The moment the Americans tried to get involved with something connected to Jerusalem, we told them one simple word: No!," he said. "Jerusalem is the capital of the Israeli nation and the state of Israel, it's complete and united. We will not give up on even one millimeter, and if you want make a crisis over that -- then make a crisis."

Ben-Artzi said he had spoken to Netanyahu on Tuesday regarding the prime minister's son's victory in the National Bible Quiz for Youth, which he said was particularly symbolic. "I told him, 'Look how symbolic it is that your son participates and wins the Bible quiz, the subject of which was Jerusalem and its connection to the Israeli people, when you, the father, are facing such a stern test and are required to prove the strength of this connection,'" he said.