New York – New York Times columnist Tom Friedman told The Jewish Week Tuesday that the wording of a memorable phrase in his Dec. 13 column (“Newt, Mitt, Bibi and Vladimir”) may have been inexact when he wrote that the standing ovation Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received in Congress this year “was bought and paid for by the Israel lobby.”
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“In retrospect I probably should have used a more precise term like ‘engineered’ by the Israel lobby — a term that does not suggest grand conspiracy theories that I don’t subscribe to,” Friedman said. “It would have helped people focus on my argument, which I stand by 100 percent.”
How do you spell anti-semetic jew? Thomas Friedman.
“‘engineered’ by the Israel lobby — a term that does not suggest grand conspiracy theories that I don’t subscribe to”
Right, that would sound a whole lot better. Keep digging, Tom. Oh, and on an unrelated matter, how’s your updated edition of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion coming along?
As someone once said,
‘You’re entitled to your own opinion, you’re NOT entitled to your own facts.’
That includes you, Thomas Friedman.
You and your ugly NY Slimes rag should take a long walk on a short bridge.
As they say, the one who laughs last, laughs best.
And, when Obama said that Israel should go back to pre-67 borders, who was that bought by, oh excuse me, “engineered” by. Why is it that the press is so absorbed with the Israel lobby and not the oil lobby?
Friedman, like other bashers of Israel, refuses to recognize the enormous public support that Israel has among the American people, particularly among conservatives. Why does he think the Republican candidates are falling over themselves to express the most support for Israel? Or was this popular support also bought and paid for (sorry, “engineered”) by the pro-Israel lobbly?
For those who still have them: why not cancel your subscriptions?
I can completely understand and sympathize with Friedman’s poor choice of words. After all, it’s not like he’s a regular writer and has any mastery of words and word choices.