JustASC

Haaretz  columnist Aluf Benn analyzes this White House photo of Obama, which we put on our cover this week:

A photo released by the White House, which shows Obama talking on the phone with Netanyahu on Monday, speaks volumes: The president is seen with his legs up on the table, his face stern and his fist clenched, as though he were dictating to Netanyahu: “Listen up and write ‘Palestinian state’ a hundred times. That’s right, Palestine, with a P.” As an enthusiast of Muslim culture, Obama surely knows there is no greater insult in the Middle East than pointing the soles of one’s shoes at another person. Indeed, photos of other presidential phone calls depict Obama leaning on his desk, with his feet on the floor.

Putting aside the shoe thing for a moment, that’s a lot to read into a photo. Note that his fist is not clenched. It’s actually a common gesture he makes when talking. The foto at left is from his Cairo speech.

As for the shoes: Really? This is what presidents do when they want to send a message? They release subliminal signals through Flickr fotos using obscure cultural body language (that, by the way, is offensive to Muslims, not Jews)?

Of course, you could make the exact opposite case — that the White House released the photo to demonstrate to Israel that rather than feeling confrontational with the Israeli P.M., Obama felt relaxed enough to literally kick back and shmooze. 

Or you could make no case at all, and focus on the policy issues, which contain enough fodder for debate without all the kinesics.  

(By the way, a CBS News story making the rounds at the Daily Beast and HuffPost says “Israeli TV newscasters Tuesday night” interpreted the photo as an “insult” to Israel — but doesn’t quote or name a single one of these newscasters. Were the ”newscasters” expressing their personal opinions, quoting Israeli officials, or reporting on the feelings of the street? Were they perhaps just quoting from Benn’s story? No way to know from the CBS dispatch.)