I wish I could say “My father taught me never to trust the government.” It would make the perfect opening for this article. Sadly, I grew up in a kibbutz that practiced communal sleeping and didn’t believe in reactionary terms like “family.” In the “Emek”—the “Valley”—at the very center of Israeli establishment, I was forced to reach that conclusion by myself. It was unavoidable, considering that the government had named the 1982 war with the incredible name of “War-Peace-Galilee.” Please allow me to keep the Hebrew possessive form in English. It emphasizes the Orwellian quality of the oxymoron. Yet, there is one exception to the rule. When a government formally denies something, that’s when you can trust that that something was perpetrated by it. Yesterday, April 12, 2012, The New York Times published the denial letter sent to it by Israeli Ambassador to the USA, naming it “U.S.-Israeli Political Ties.” I am sure the ambassador won’t mind my also reproducing the enlightening document here:
Romney Netanyahu “In your article about the relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (“A Friendship Dating to 1976 Resonates in 2012,” front page, April 8), you reported that “on Super Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu delivered a personal briefing by telephone to Mr. Romney about the situation in Iran.
“In fact, Prime Minister Netanyahu was in Washington for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference and, after meeting with President Obama for more than four hours the previous day, received a call from Mr. Romney. The call lasted a few minutes and covered a range of topics, not just Iran.
“Israeli leaders have a longstanding practice of meeting the candidates from both parties. On July 23, 2008, for example, Senator Obama, then the presumptive Democratic nominee, met in Israel with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as well as the head of the opposition, Mr. Netanyahu.
“Israel does not interfere in internal political affairs of the United States — contrary to the article’s insinuation — and greatly values the wide bipartisan support it enjoys in America
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