Baratz Retracts: ‘OK, Kerry DOESN’T Have Brains Of 12-Year-Old’

“I apologize to twelve-year-olds everywhere for my insensitivity.”

Jerusalem, November 8 – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s newly appointed Media Adviser walked back this morning derogatory comments he had made about US Secretary of State John Kerry, saying that, contrary to what he had previously remarked, he does not in fact believe that the secretary has the mental capacity of a preteen.

Pundits and politicians alike have criticized Netanyahu’s selection of Dr. Ran Baratz for the position, noting various statements Baratz had made about President Reuven Rivlin and about the two senior American officials. Baratz apologized for the remarks, which were made as a private citizen, calling them humor that fell flat, and promised henceforth to maintain conduct and tone worthy of the position he now holds. In addition to comparing Kerry’s intelligence to than of a twelve-year-old, Baratz had called President Obama an antisemite and poo-pooed President Rivlin’s importance. In his apology, Netayahu’s new adviser said he does not actually believe Kerry has the intelligence of a twelve-year-old, since the secretary has not demonstrated any such intelligence.

“It was a mistake I regret, and I undertake not to make such remarks again about Mr. Kerry,” said Dr. Baratz in a statement. “I apologize to twelve-year-olds everywhere for my insensitivity.”

Baratz earlier apologized for his characterization of Obama as antisemitic, saying the epithet did not adequately convey the president’s character. “I am sorry I expressed myself in such stark, crude terms about President Obama,” he wrote on Facebook last week. “It is inaccurate and unfair to distill the American president’s antipathy for Western values in general into mere hatred of Jews.” He added that Obama’s failure to make any demands of the Arab and Muslim worlds to address their own rampant, deep-seated antisemitism, while pouncing on Israel – and Netanyahu in particular – for anything resembling anti-Arab prejudice, does not perforce indicate that the president suffers from the same poisonous worldview. “It is entirely likely that President Obama despises anything that makes the West seem better or more moral in any way, so making it about the Jews is imprecise and regrettable. While the Jewish contribution to human morality is crucial, it is not fair to say that President Obama’s disdain for that morality  – for example, in his administration supporting notorious human rights violator Saudi Arabia’s selection to head up a UN human rights panel – is specifically anti-Jewish in its nature.”

A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu would address the developing situation after his trip to the US to meet Obama. “The prime minister acknowledges the sensitivity of the appointment,” said spokesman Rhea Liticzek. “But some chickensh*t people are blowing out of proportion what is supposed to happen when a figure in one country’s administration badmouths figures in another country’s administration.”