Nati Meir: 'Israelis think I'm trash'

In urma cu vreo doua saptamani, pseudo"ziaristul" de la Ziua, Tesu Solomovici a prezentat un portret al lui "Nati Meir din Afula vrea presedentia Romaniei". Prezentat ca israelian, care de abea asteapta sa puna laba pe inaltul post, articolul respectiv a atras (cum nu?) reactziile cu care ne-am obisnuit deja si pe care ziarul le cauta cu lumanarea... doar, doar va putea sa-si invigoreze forumul care este in cadere libera.

In paranteza voi aminti ca pentru munca de provocare pe care o conduce cu mult sarg, mister Rosca a fost distins de o mana de israelieni tampitzi care formeaza o asociatzie culturala israeliano-romana cu distinctzia de "Ziaristul Anului". Chiar asa!

In fine, in ynet de astazi apare un interviu cu Nati Meir si din el putem sa intzeleg ce cred israelienii despre el si cat de israelian se simte el.

'Israelis think I'm trash'

Convicted of fraud, hated by Jewish community, supported by prisoners, Nati Meir wants to be president of Romania. Barely speaking language and having no real platform doesn't seem to matter

by Smadar Shir, ynet, 05.08.07,

BUCHAREST - Nati Meir is counting the days until May 19. The Romanian referendum deciding on the impeachment of president Traian Basescu for alleged abuse of power is less than three weeks away, and when decided, Meir expects to be able to announce he's running for president of Romania.

Oddly enough, this native of Afula, who was elected to parliament as part of the nationalist party Partidul România Mare (The Greater Romania Party, PRM), lead by Corneliu Vadim Tudor – a known holocaust denier - doesn't enjoy the support of the Jewish community in Romania.

The 'anti-Semite Jew'Wearing a kippah when swearing in, traveling with Tudor to Auschwitz, even leaving PRM, all prove futile. The Local Jewish community sees him at the "anti-Semite Jew", and that, he knows, is one of the kinder things they call him.

Considered damaging to Israel's image by Israeli diplomats, and an outcast in his own community, Meir has many supporters as well - five hundred thousand of them to be exact - prisoners and their families, willing to vote for him this instant, due to his extensive lobbying for prisoner rights, and amnesties for those convicted of minor felonies.

Meir came close to seeing the inside of a jail cell himself: A day before swearing in to Romanian Parliament he was convicted by a Haifa court on various charges of fraud, and was sentenced, to three year probation and a fine of 500,000 NIS.

Is this a man fit to run for president of Romania? "If it was up to Israeli votes, I wouldn't stand a chance," he said. "But thank God, I was elected by the citizens of Romania, and I'm never coming back to Israel."

"I stand at attention at Hatikva, and remember my fallen friends at the Yizcor claxon, but I won't allow my son to join the army," he added.

"Nati Meir for president of Romania? how distasteful", said a senior member of the Israeli embassy in Romania.

Born in Afula 52 years ago to parents of Romanian descent, Meir admits to speaking poor Romanian to this day. The language was not spoken in his home, and "the little I know I learned from my grandmother… I'm not ashamed of my Israeli accent, it's what sets me apart" he said.
He served as a gunner in the IDF, and studied mathematics and industrial engineering at Ben-Gurion University. Twice married, he has four children, and 11 years ago, he left Israel with his second wife and their son.

After a short stay in Germany, they finally settled in Romania, "with nothing more than a 100 dollars in our pockets." Returning to Israel in face of hardship, he said, was never an option.

Restul articolului aici.