Arab social media users were outraged by Bouden acknowledging Herzog’s presence at all, calling their interaction a “disgrace” and a “betrayal.”
By: Lauren Marcus – worldisraelnews.com
A video of Israeli President Isaac Herzog laughing with Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on Tuesday went viral, sparking widespread outrage among Arabs on Twitter and other social media platforms.
In a seven-second long clip, Bouden and Herzog are seen nodding at each other and laughing, while standing several feet away from each other.
But despite the brevity of the interaction, Arab social media users were outraged by Bouden acknowledging Herzog’s presence at all, calling their interaction a “disgrace” and a “betrayal.”
Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, “once slammed Trump’s Peace Plan as the ‘Deal of Injustice,’ [and] said ‘anybody who normalizes relations w[ith] Israel is guilty of high treason,’” noted Al Jazeera journalist Saad Abedine.
One Twitter user characterized Bouden’s interaction with Herzog as an “act of high treason” and urged Saied to force her out of office.
Another Tunisian social media activist advised his countrymen to “wake up” and suggested that Saied consider Boudem’s acknowledgment of Herzog as evidence that she does not prioritize “the liberation of Palestine and Al-Quds [Jerusalem.]”
A spokesperson for Herzog issued a statement clarifying that he had only introduced himself to Bouden, and that the two did not speak at length.
“The president turned to the leaders standing next to him and introduced himself, as manners dictate,” the statement read.
“As for the prime minister of Tunisia and prime minister of Lebanon, who were standing nearby, when the leaders introduced themselves to each other, it was understood among them that they could not speak. That was the entire conversation between the three leaders.”
Tunisia did not recognize Israel after the country was established in 1948. The two nations did open temporary diplomatic missions after the signing of the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s.
However, following the outbreak of the Second Intifada, Tunisia and Israel suspended ties.
In other news pertaining to President Herzog, World Israel News reported on Tuesday that he made two attempts to coax center-left lawmakers into forming a national unity government with the Likud, in a bid to prevent the establishment of a narrow right-wing government, Israel’s Channel 12 reported .
According to the report, President Herzog twice urged Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz to drop their opposition to forming a unity government with Likud chief Benjamin Netanyahu.
Herzog, who ran at the helm of the Labor party in 2015 and lost to then-premier Benjamin Netanyahu, reached out to Lapid and Gantz following the official publication of the preliminary vote count last week, but was rebuffed by both leaders.
The president reportedly urged Lapid and Gantz Tuesday morning to reconsider their opposition, but was again flatly refused.
Gantz’s National Unity party and Herzog’s office both denied the report, issuing separate statements pushing back on the claims made by Channel 12.
“In contrast to the report, the president has not appealed to nor asked any party leaders to form such a government or any other,” Herzog’s office said. “It should be emphasized that the process of recommending candidates at the president’s residence will start only tomorrow, and only after that will a mandate be given for forming a new government.”
A spokesperson for the National Unity party said that the “president did not call upon the Defense Minister and National Unity chairman regarding joining a unity government.”
“We are headed for the Opposition.”
