Shoe-gate! The soles of Obama’s kicks sends Israelis into new meltdown

Posted on June 11, 2009 Updated on May 16, 2010

aura writes; Well everyone, get out your crying towels. A world of  kvetching is underway in Israel, where they are up in arms over a pair of President Obama’s kicks. First Israelis started erecting Obama huts on occupied Palestinian lands in defiance of his demand that they halt illegal settlements. Then a YouTube video surfaced and is going viral showing American Jews and Israelis in Jerusalem hurling vile racial slurs at Obama, and making terrorist threats against his life. And now there’s shoe-gate. Apparently President Obama was talking to Bibi on the horn with his feet propped up on the desk, and was snapped with the soles of his shoes facing the camera. That snap officially kicked off shoe-gate.  Below is an excerpted post found on the CBS website as Shoe-gate hit the mainstream. Its pretty hilarious. To read the post in its entirety, go to the LINK

Some Israelis Insulted By Obama Picture
Posted by Howard Arenstein
June 9, 2009 7:34 PM

Israeli TV newscasters Tuesday night interpreted a photo taken Monday in the Oval Office of President Obama talking on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “insult” to Israel.

They saw the incident as somewhat akin to an incident last year, when the Iraqi reporter threw a shoe at President Bush in Baghdad.

It is considered an insult in the Arab world to show the sole of your shoe to someone. It is not a Jewish custom necessarily, but Israel feels enough a part of the Middle East after 60 years to be insulted too.(Finish reading at LINK)