Or something like that. Nick Confessore of the New York Times has a perfectly good tweet to explain this inordinately stilted picture, but the reaction of an individual who tweets under the handle of Starz and Strypz is even more apt. (The exchange appears below.)
In a column today (not by Confessore, NB), the Times is more charitable about Kerry’s visit to the Middle East, quoting the Secretary as saying optimistically that his goal is
not only to obtain a cease-fire but also to map out a ‘sustainable process going forward’ that would address some of the long-term grievances of the Palestinians in Gaza and prevent fighting between Hamas and Israel from erupting every few years.
To this end, Kerry began his “round of intensive meetings” with U.N. Secrerary General Ban Ki-moon, who helpfully stated yesterday that he sees no important difference between Israel and Palestine. Kerry next journeyed to the West Bank to take the temperature of president Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, who does see a difference between the two warring factions. Two guesses about which party he sees as the aggressor.
Finally, Kerry swung around to Israel to shake hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhyahu, who — judging from the expression his face — heard Kerry’s genuine impressions of the Jewish state this past Sunday when he thought his microphone was off.
No one is smiling in this picture, either: pic.twitter.com/zo3nssWAz9 — Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) July 23, 2014
If this pic is any indication, Kerry is winning over key hearts and minds in Israel: pic.twitter.com/OoCBXFPGps
— Starz and Strypz (@StarzandStrypz) July 23, 2014
