by Alex Traiman
A senior adviser to Blue and White faction leader Benny Gantz, currently accompanying Gantz on a visit to Washington, DC to meet with US President Donald Trump has likened Trump in the past to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and insinuated that he colluded with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has also suggested that Trump play Russian roulette with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
In August 2017, Tzur tweeted: “Barack Hussain Obama left, Donald Adolf Trump arrived. Dying to see who comes next.”
הלך ברק חוסיין אובמה, הגיע דונלד אדולף טראמפ. מת לדעת מי אחריו.
— ronen tzur (@RonenRt)
Similarly, in March 2016, Tzur tweeted: “Donald’s next book: Mein Trump,” playing on the spelling of Trump’s name (in Hebrew, “p” and “f” are represented by the same letter).
In September 2017, during attempted negotiations between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, Tzur tweeted, “It seems right to me to suggest a compromise between Trump and Kim Jong: Russian roulette with two bullets. What will be will be.”
נראה לי נכון להציע פשרה בין טראמפ לקים ז׳ונג: רולטה רוסית עם 2 כדורים. מה שיהיה יהיה.
— ronen tzur (@RonenRt)
In December 2016, Tzur tweeted, “It looks like U.S. President Putin has appointed Trump Secretary of State.
נראה שנשיא ארה״ב פוטין מינה את טראמפ למזכיר המדינה.
— ronen tzur (@RonenRt)
In May 2017, Tzur tweeted, “What is surprising about Trump is that only one item has gone to the Russians until now.”
מה שמפתיע אצל טראמפ זה שרק פריט אחד עבר לרוסים עד עכשיו.
— ronen tzur (@RonenRt)
Tzur posted several other derogatory comments on Twitter in 2016 and 2017.
When it became clear that the offensive tweets were being publicized just as Gantz is set to meet Trump in Washington, Tzur tweeted Monday:
“Seeing that there is excitement among some members of the cult about some tweets from years ago, let me clarify: There were some issues on which the younger me thought differently from the president (not that it matters to anyone). Meanwhile, it turns out he is the most courageous US president, and the most significant for the security of Israel in generations, and together with millions of Israelis: I salute him.”
רואה שיש התרגשות אצל כמה מחברי הכת מכמה ציוצים מלפני שנים אז מבהיר: היו נושאים שאני הקטן חשבתי אחרת מהנשיא (לא שזה חשוב למישהו). בינתיים מסתבר שזה הנשיא הכי אמיץ לארה׳ב, והכי ומשמעותי שהיה לבטחון ישראל בדורות האחרונים ויחד עם מיליוני ישראלים: מצדיע לו.
— ronen tzur (@RonenRt)
The Likud Party responded in a statement:
“Political ignorance and irresponsibility on the part of Benny Gantz to bring with him to the White House his personal adviser Ronen Tzur, who called the US President ‘Donald Adolph Trump’ and posted a long series of tweets against him on social media. Let’s hope Gantz’s irresponsibility does not hurt Israel’s national interests vis-à-vis the US government.”