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Libyan delegation in Israel to bolster Gaddafi's image
Monday, July 11, 2011 Ryan Jones
Israel Channel 2 News reported on Sunday that a delegation sent by embattled Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was in Israel last week in an effort to repair the tarnished image of their nation and leader.
The delegation met with opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima), because she was the Israeli politician most outspoken in her support of the Libyan rebels trying to overthrow Gaddafi.
The Libyans reportedly presented Livni with a personal recorded message from Gaddafi.
The Libyan delegation also met with Kadima lawmaker Meir Sheetrit, who has vocally backed Arab peace initiatives that Libya has been behind, and with Jewish leaders of Libyan descent.
It is unclear why the Libyan regime is so concerned about what Israelis think of it, but Gaddafi has always had a bizarre, if not hostile, relationship with the Jewish state.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Gaddafi had tried to financially back the formation of a Libyan political party to run in Israel's 2009 parliamentary election.
As his nation exploded in pro-democracy demonstrations in February, Israelis were reminded of a Channel 2 News interview last year with an Israeli Jewish woman claiming to be Gaddafi's secodn cousin.
If the story of Guita Brown is accurate, that would make Gaddafi Jewish, and eligible for the "right of retur" to the Jewish state. The news anchor at the time joked that like it or not, Israel would be obligated by its own laws to provide Gaddafi with asylum.
Libyan delegation in Israel to bolster Gaddafi's image
Monday, July 11, 2011 Ryan Jones
Israel Channel 2 News reported on Sunday that a delegation sent by embattled Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was in Israel last week in an effort to repair the tarnished image of their nation and leader.
The delegation met with opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima), because she was the Israeli politician most outspoken in her support of the Libyan rebels trying to overthrow Gaddafi.
The Libyans reportedly presented Livni with a personal recorded message from Gaddafi.
The Libyan delegation also met with Kadima lawmaker Meir Sheetrit, who has vocally backed Arab peace initiatives that Libya has been behind, and with Jewish leaders of Libyan descent.
It is unclear why the Libyan regime is so concerned about what Israelis think of it, but Gaddafi has always had a bizarre, if not hostile, relationship with the Jewish state.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Gaddafi had tried to financially back the formation of a Libyan political party to run in Israel's 2009 parliamentary election.
As his nation exploded in pro-democracy demonstrations in February, Israelis were reminded of a Channel 2 News interview last year with an Israeli Jewish woman claiming to be Gaddafi's secodn cousin.
If the story of Guita Brown is accurate, that would make Gaddafi Jewish, and eligible for the "right of retur" to the Jewish state. The news anchor at the time joked that like it or not, Israel would be obligated by its own laws to provide Gaddafi with asylum.
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