September 28, 2012 | 10:00 am

Netanyahu, the bomb and the Memes

Posted by Noga Gur-Arieh

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Netanyahu's speech last night really blew our minds. Every single Israeli, even the ones who have no respect for him as Prime Minister, agreed that this speech was on the verge of breathtaking. But turns out, once again, the joke's on us.

After wowing the audience with facts about Israel, the Middle East and Iran, and after breaking every rumor and misjudgment, Netanyahu pulled  out a picture with the drawing of a bomb. It wasn't necessary. After all, he could have explained Iran's nuclear progress by using only words, but he probably wanted to make his speech unforgettable. Well, he definitely succeeded in doing that. Right after the speech, Israeli websites and Facebook accounts began to fill with Memes and caricatures of our prime minister and the bomb. But what started as an inside joke, managed to hurt our public image yet again.

Soon, those jokes spread worldwide, including articles in important papers, saying Israelis make jokes on Netanyahu's speech. It's true what some say: that this whole thing got people to remember this speech of all the others (Obama and Ahmadinejad included), but the way I look at it, this still bites us in our behinds. This speech contained all the right components. Netanyahu answered every single bad thing ever said about Israel. He managed not only to show the strategic importance of Israel in the Middle East, but also the damage in Iran's current existence there. He left the Palestinians speechless after mentioning the humanitarian aid Israelis provide them, which is something they consistently "leave out" whenever they get the chance to speak up. He answered all of those who try and harm us, or make us look bad in the eyes of the world and left the audience no choice but to applaud as he firmly said peace can never be accomplished by speeches, and that nuclear Iran will not make peace happen sooner.

This speech did something not many speeches do - convinced the world in its truthfulness. 24 hours later, all I can think of is what a shame none of those strong words were left. This was some healthy humor after an intense speech we all admired, and now it is out of context.  This speech will definitely be the most remembered one. Only people would not remember the importance of drawing a red line, they will remember the drawing of a bomb and an empty sentence about Road Runner and Wiley Coyote. Yet again, maybe I am too much of a pessimist. perhaps this bomb will have the right impact, enough to stop the real bomb…