Sometime during the Spring or Summer of 1984 Binyamin Netanyahu entered into a passenger elevator I was riding in an Manhattan office building. The air bristled upon his entrance. Mr. Netanyahu was a familiar face to probably most New Yorkers (who watched the news) due to his appointment as the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, and also his well known “take no prisoners” tone of advocacy for the Israeli state. Back in the 1980′s local New York television was enthusiastically in the corner of Israel. Today, the hot water tap has gone cold. Mr. Netanyahu provided “good TV” for 6PM newscast with his tough boxer like demeanor and like a tough boxer he often led with his chin but this was no glass jaw sissy type of Jew. This one would hit you back. Hard. Some people don’t like it when a Jew hits back hard. They get frightened. People ask stupid questions, like “why does he have to hit back so hard? Thanks for the poem.
