Israel Embassy responds to Iran with a ‘Mean Girls’ tweet. Seriously.
Published June 4, 2018
(JTA) — In the days before social media, embassies used to speak in the carefully circumspect language of Diplomatese. A “frank and honest” discussion meant both sides almost came to blows. If you were kicked out for a country for “activities incompatible with diplomatic status,” it meant you were a spy.
That was then.
The Embassy of Israel in Washington earned kudos for its response to a pungent tweet from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran ‘s supreme leader. On Sunday, Khameini’s Twitter account declared, “Our stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken. #Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen.”
Our stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken. #Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen. 7/31/91#GreatReturnMarch
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 3, 2018
The Israeli Embassy didn’t issue an angry statement or demand action in the U.N. — it did something far more devastating: It tweeted a popular meme from the 2004 teen movie “Mean Girls,” in which Rachel McAdams’character demands of Lindsey Lohan’s character, “Why are you so obsessed with me?”
— Embassy of Israel (@IsraelinUSA) June 4, 2018
Israel’s supporters were delighted by the shade: Nearly 5,000 of them liked the tweet by Monday afternoon.
