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Having now seen a couple of clips of #WhoIsAmerica its greatest achievement could be surfacing the antisemitism of American conservatives who "support Israel". It is the only explanation for them accepting

@SashaBaronCohen

's cartoonish caricature of an Israeli, "Erran Morad".

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David Frum

@davidfrum

Jul 15, 2018

I'm really really not loving this game where @sachabaroncohen repeatedly takes advantage of people's affection and respect for the State of Israel to deceive and humiliate them. twitter.com/WalshFreedom/s

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"the only explanation," tho? Or they've met dozens if not hundreds of gung-ho IDF guys exactly like that during the course of their careers

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My point exactly. If one has met a lot of Israelis and cannot distinguish them from Cohen’s minstrel show version, there is something wrong with the eyes one is looking with.

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If you're saying there's no Israelis like that, I have to disagree. Christ, I have in-laws who are almost that far gone.

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I recognized the type he was spoofing. Doesn't make it any less a minstrel show. If one cares about Israel, one should be able to recognize the difference.

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Sort of in the middle on this one. Yeah, the caricature was extreme, but the difference is not so great when you consider what the IDF actually is. I know some, too... Which has zilch to do with Israelis or Jews. You get similar talking points from US cops, as you well know.

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It's not just what he said, it's the whole performance of it.

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That's why I said I'm in the middle. I agree he went above and beyond, as with every single character he's ever done. OTOH, I think those guys *really* badly wanted to be convinced that teaching toddlers to shoot & carry is a good idea - really, really, really badly.

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There is also that. Lunacy.

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Also: the neocons seem to be a big part of the reason why the IDF types are that unhinged. The gradual loosening of restraints in Israel has been in accordance with US positions on the Middle East. From his interviewees' perspective, he was talking Real Sense.

9:27 PM · Jul 16, 2018Twitter Web Client

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Yes. Yes. Yes.