Satire Versus Bibi: Watching Stewart And Alooshe Laying Into Netanyahu
29 March 2015
By Diana Moukalled
US President Barack Obama has appeared weak and nervous ever since what can
only be described as the insult leveled at him by Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, who exceeded the limits of diplomatic decorum last week
when he addressed the US Congress while delivering a stinging indictment of
Obama's foreign policy. Ostensibly about the ''bad deal'' which Obama is
hoping to sign with Tehran on its nuclear program, Netanyahu's speech was
actually a derisory and insulting polemic against the US president delivered
in his own back yard and to the sound of thunderous applause—an unprecedented
event by anyone's estimation and one which ignored the most basic rudiments
of political etiquette.
Netanyahu's speech was nothing but a direct challenge to Obama and his
foreign policy, with the US president taking the blow from the Israeli PM,
seemingly powerless to deliver a counterpunch of any kind. The same went for
the Democrats, who were satisfied with simply boycotting the speech, and
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who could barely control her rage after
hearing it, later admitting it had left her ''near tears.''
The nauseating way Republicans in Congress fêted Netanyahu and their fawning
reactions to his speech have worried many in the US, who see it as ludicrous
that a leader of a foreign country—even one as close an ally to the US as
Israel is—was received so warmly by some in the country when, judging by his
speech, he obviously regards American foreign policy with considerble
contempt. Criticism of Netanyahu from politicians, whichever party they
belong to, will, due to the diktats of modern diplomacy, always take a more
measured and carefully chosen tone. Criticism from other sources, however, is
not so constrained.
Indeed, the most stinging criticism of Netanyahu and the astonishing extent
of his hubris came from outside political or diplomatic spheres, none more so
than veteran satirist and host of The Daily Show John Stewart. In his usual
irreverent, uncompromising style, Stewart delivered perhaps the most damning
criticism yet of Netanyahu, showing his viewers how the Israeli prime
minister's speech contradicted other things he has said during the last 19
years and, significantly, since Stewart is Jewish himself, lampooning
Netanyahu's audacious contention that he speaks for Jews around the world.
But Stewart was not alone in his desire to denigrate and make fun of the
Israeli premier. Noy Alooshe, an Israeli musician of Tunisian descent—and
famous for his hilarious autotune remix of Muammar Gaddafi's ''Zenga Zenga''
speech in 2011— produced a remix of Netanyahu's Congress speech, editing
excerpts from it to reveal the inherent contradictions in the Israeli
premier's position on Iran's nuclear program. Alooshe says his unique form of
political satire derives from the anger he feels when listening to
politicians and their often-contradictory stances. So what better way is
there to express this anger than to take it out on the speeches which caused
it in the first place? ''Bibi'' of course is no different, and has been on
the end of Alooshe's acerbic video and music vignettes a number of times.
Many today see satire as one of the most prominent forms of dissent there is,
whereby in attempting to ridicule politicians one cuts through the spin and
the deliberate public relations pyrotechnics with which those in power seek
to dazzle us and shamelessly aggrandize themselves. The wonderful thing about
this kind of dissent is that when it is done well the satirist will always
come out on top, as politicians by their very nature cannot respond to this
kind of criticism without further embarrassing themselves or weakening their
positions.
This is a time of vocal political protest in the Middle East and around the
world, and when this is combined with various technological tools, such as
online social media outlets, one is able to respond and voice one's
protest—whether satirical, musical, or in Alooshe's case a combination of
both—almost as quickly as an event, or speech, unfolds.
Stewart and Alooshe's brilliant satirical attempts show us how this form of
dissent can knock those in power off from their jealously guarded perches.
Yes, satire has become an indispensable part of the arsenal of modern
political dissent. Unfortunately for us in the Middle East, satire is, for
this very reason, rightly regarded by regional politicians as inherently
dangerous to them, and some of its practitioners have met their ends as a
result of their efforts. Watching Stewart and Alooshe laying into Netanyahu
reminded me of what we have lost: Oh, how we miss you, Bassem Youssef.
Diana Moukalled is a prominent and well-respected TV journalist in the
Arab world thanks to her phenomenal show Bil Ayn Al-Mojarada (By The Naked
Eye), a series of documentaries on controversial areas and topics which airs
on Lebanon's leading local and satelite channel, Future Television. Diana
also is a veteran war correspondent, having covered both the wars in Iraq and
in Afghanistan, as well as the Isreali "Grapes of Wrath" massacre in southern
Lebanon. Ms. Moukalled has gained world wide recognition and was named one of
the most influential women in a special feature that ran in Time Magazine in
2004.
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