Three videos of Binyamin Netanyahu in Paris Sunday capture the emotions of the Jewish community there – and those of Netanyahu himself – better than a million words would.
In the first video, Netanyahu is met with almost frenzied shouts of “Bibi! Bibi!” at the Grande Synagogue – as well as shouts of “help us!” in Hebrew. His arrival obviously greatly heartens the Jews, who are feeling increasingly defenseless in the face of Islamist terrorism.
A second video shows Netanyahu and his security detail as they are inexplicably made to wait for a bus to transport them to the Marche Républicaine, after Netanyahu and 50 other heads of state had been received by Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace. Netanyahu and his guards are obviously nonplussed by the situation, which left them exposed for several minutes in a potentially hostile environment – but keep a stiff upper lip and even manage a smile or two.
A third video shows Netanyahu in the actual march. At first, he finds himself in the second row of heads of state – either on purpose or for some other reason. He then apparently decides to move into the first row – and does so by approaching the president of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, from behind, introducing himself and simultaneously sliding into place next to him.
While hostile commenters reveled in what appeared to be Netanyahu's discomfort before boarding the bus, Israeli commenters were pleased with what they saw as Israeli chutzpah in the way he sidled into place in the front row of the march, between Keïta and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.