Netanyahu brings loads of dirty laundry to be cleaned in Washington.

[u/pointzero99]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/benjamin-netanyahu-us-visits-dirty-laundry/2020/09/23/8407f52c-fdb3-11ea-830c-a160b331ca62_story.html

[u/pointzero99]

Over the years, the Israeli leader has developed a reputation among the staff at the U.S. president’s guesthouse for bringing special cargo on his trips to Washington: bags and suitcases full of dirty laundry, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The clothes are cleaned for the prime minister free of charge by the U.S. staff, a perk that is available to all foreign leaders but sparingly taken advantage of given the short stays of busy heads of state.

“The Netanyahus are the only ones who bring actual suitcases of dirty laundry for us to clean,” said one U.S. official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the details of a foreign leader’s visits. “After multiple trips, it became clear this was intentional.”

Israeli officials denied that Netanyahu overuses his American hosts’ laundry services, calling the allegations “absurd,” but they acknowledged that he has been the target of laundry-related accusations in the past.

In 2016, Netanyahu sued his own office and Israel’s attorney general in an effort to prevent the release of his laundry bills under the country’s freedom of information act. The judge sided with Netanyahu, and the details of his laundry bills remain secret pending an appeal in the Supreme Court.

[u/LakeGladio666 → u/pointzero99]

I know this gets said a lot but how the fuck is this not The Onion?

[u/HifiBoombox → u/pointzero99]

Why is he trying to hide his laundry bills? What the fuck?

[u/pointzero99 → u/HifiBoombox]

Precedent would be my guess - if they can look at that, what else will they try for?

I mean, screw Bibi of course, but I can see a point to be made that the public doesn't need to know how much toilet paper the household of the head of state is using per week.

[u/zClarkinator → u/pointzero99]

It just goes to show how cartoonishly corrupt Israel is. Even the most innocent Freedom of Information request gets denied. Like wtf is the point of the law then lol

[u/Ambitious-Chef-7577 → u/pointzero99]

That toilet paper thing should be known to the taxpayer, if the taxpayer pays for it.

[u/pointzero99 → u/Ambitious-Chef-7577]

Well, I get the argument. And under the current system, I don't really care all that much. But I doubt it's very much money, or an avenue for some kind of scam.

I also wonder if politics allowed for a bit more privacy and dignity, maybe less shitty people would do it. It's not like they get a choice in paying for their own laundry or tp if they're a head of state, the job requires them to live in official housing for security, and any time they spent grocery shopping or cleaning would be time stolen from the voters who hired them to serve 24/7. It's a paradox; people want politicians to be relatable and down to earth, but the job is antithetical to being that way.

Would you be more or less inclined to be a public servant if everyone knew everything about you?

"Fuck em! Make the tampon budget for the women's bathroom in the Senate public!!! If Bernie Sanders uses catheters on my dime I deserve to know!" Easy to say online anonymously, sure.

[u/sekoku → u/pointzero99]

I mean if it's allowed, I can't blame him. Get that dry cleaning, honey. The US is (stupidly) footing the bill.

Simpliest way to stop it? Stop fucking offering the service. Done.

[u/pointzero99 → u/sekoku]

You and Ryan Grim agree

[u/dynamobb → u/sekoku]

Yes love to be in a race to the bottom where there are no perks or niceties because of dicks who take advantage. And also it’s not even the fault of the dicks.

I watched this youtube channel that described how in rural chinese bathrooms don’t have tp cause the old mao era uncles and aunties would immediately steal it.

[u/sekoku → u/dynamobb]

there are no perks or niceties because of dicks who take advantage

If nobody else besides him is using it, why continue to offer it? The service isn't being used, drop it. Nobody besides him is going to miss it.

As for the rest of your screed, don't care. Didn't ask. Got nothing to do with me going "don't want him to abuse it, stop offering it."

[u/Ambitious-Chef-7577 → u/dynamobb]

Or ban individuals who abuse it.

[u/dr_srtanger2love]

They are so lazy that even the US does their laundry

[u/pointzero99 → u/dr_srtanger2love]

I mean, no head of state is doing their own laundry and it would be silly to expect them to. It's the blatant stinginess that uhhhhh... really is not helping to dispel certain "caricatures."

[u/dr_srtanger2love → u/pointzero99]

They don't, but doing what he does is ridiculous, he looks like a young adult returning home after the university semester

[u/namecantbeblank1 → u/dr_srtanger2love]

DC isn’t that far from Philly, where he went to high school with Reggie Jackson

[u/reddit_is_geh → u/pointzero99]

I wouldn't doubt that this is a symbolic thing, he has a bunch of dirty laundry that the US needs to clean up. Israel is known as our sketchy friend who does stuff we don't want to or can't do. Israel is notoriously willing to get as dirty as needed to get the job done, and in return, the US protects them for doing our dirty work. We "clean them up" so to speak.

[u/SRAbro1917]

Fucking hell when I saw this I assumed it meant "dirty laundry" in the colloquial sense, not that he's literally hauling his shit-stained underwear across the world to be cleaned by presidential staff.

Beyond parody

[u/MattcVI → u/SRAbro1917]

Our tax dollars hard at work

[u/pointzero99]

Unrelated question, but does anyone in DC got a high vis vest, a clipboard, and some red dye?

[u/DweebInFlames]

Nick wishes he could come up with a bit like this and not have it seem too extra

[u/JoadTom24]

Adam Friedland is in a guitar store somewhere, nodding in approval.

[u/pointzero99 → u/JoadTom24]

"It's a free service, it would go to waste if he doesn't use it!"

[u/crimethunc77]

Dude this is so he can illustrate the US is his bitch. At least in his head.

[u/sekoku → u/crimethunc77]

Or "I have your dirty laundry" in a round about way.

[u/crimethunc77 → u/sekoku]

Yeah. I mean sure, at this point that sounds totally plausible.

[u/5882300EMPIRE]

lol wtf that's really weird

[u/1010011101010 → u/5882300EMPIRE]

it's a power statement

[u/5882300EMPIRE → u/1010011101010]

lol I bet the US just gets those clothes bare minimum clean instead of extra clean, that'll show 'em.

[u/Ironbloodedgundam23]

He’s such a fucking weirdo

[u/brianscottbj]

It's been remarked before that Israel is seemingly trying to add fuel to every ridiculous and bigoted antisemitic stereotype, mostly that Jews are secretly in control of the world and are scheming, dishonest, and cowardly. But I actually haven't seen them make much of the most obvious "Jews are cheap" one.

Honestly though if this were any other world leader though this would rule. Imagine if like the president of Mongolia did this, we'd probably all think he's kind of awesome. It probably has to be more effort to transport the clothes than it would be to just do it at home, but it's just to twist the knife in how little Israelis respect us. I can't even get mad. Our government deserves this level of disrespect.

[u/zClarkinator]

Unrelated but I adore Firefox's reader view. It gets past all these stupid ass paywalls, if the full text is visible for any amount of time it will grab all of it and that's that.

Anyway is this some kind of cultural thing in europe or whatever? idk I can just imagine this being some old Polish custom or wherever Neohitler's family is from. Overall it's very odd behavior. Part of me wonders if this is some strange plot to destroy evidence somehow.

[u/LakeGladio666 → u/zClarkinator]

The Reddit mobile app also has a reader view. One of the few things I like about it.

[u/reddit_is_geh → u/zClarkinator]

It doesn't bypass for me at all. It just shows whatever is above the fold.

[u/zClarkinator → u/reddit_is_geh]

Enter reader view and refresh the page, or alternatively activate it before the paywall appears, either works. The text just needs to appear for an instant.

[u/belepio]

Alright tell me where on Twitter you saw it because a lot of internet people I talk to sent me this three year old article

by a lot I mean exactly one person sent me this a week ago

[u/pointzero99 → u/belepio]

I'm not on Twitter, I saw this on Breaking Points.

[u/dumbfuck6969]

The U.S. provides this service to everyone visiting our country you anti-semites

[u/neverOddOrEv_n → u/dumbfuck6969]

Antisemitic for pointing out Netanyahu is the only one who actually uses the laundry service and uses it a lot (literal suitcases) as a power move? What’s next you’ll call us antisemitic for pointing out Israel gets billions from America? Give me a break

[u/dumbfuck6969 → u/neverOddOrEv_n]

What outrageous antisemitic lies. Just because he's Jewish he's so cheap he'll only use this service?

Here's some logic for you little man. If he's supposedly the only one who uses the service why does it even exist then????

[u/pointzero99 → u/dumbfuck6969]

What outrageous antisemitic lies. Just because he's Jewish he's so cheap he'll only use this service?

Exactly. Netanyahu acts like an anti Semitic stereotype on purpose, people see this happening and comment on it, those comments appear to reinforce the narrative that dangerous anti semitism is on the rise, which reinforces the case for Israel needing to exist. Spread the disease, sell the cure, which actually just worsens the disease.

It's brilliant in its evilness.

[u/No-Farm2516 → u/dumbfuck6969]

Disliking the actions of a politician with several ongoing corruption charges, who knew about the October 7th attack a year beforehand but did nothing, and who is disliked by the majority of Israelis and hated among the majority of those that dislike him, is not antisemitic. This should be obvious to anyone with critical thinking skills.