Say cheese—selfies with the Trumps
After MK Oren Hazan forced his way into taking a selfie with US Pres. Trump, 11-year-old Yosef David, who is hospitalized at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, met with First Lady Melania Trump and Sara Netanyahu during their joint visit, and managed to sneak a selfie of his own.
In an interview with Ynet, Yosef David, 11, who has been hospitalized for eight days and studies at the hospital's children's school, said, "The meeting was exciting and we did fun activities. I told Melania she was pretty and she said 'thank you,' and I even managed to take a selfie."
Yosef, a resident of Baka, Jerusalem, immigrated to Israel from Venezuela six years ago.
"They asked how long we’ve been here (in the hospital) and how old we were. I was happy to take a selfie and it turned out well," said Yosef.
During the visit, Melania and Sara presented the children with gifts, with Melania giving them small backpacks and children's books. The children gave each of the women photo albums with personal dedications and letters they wrote. The ladies also took the opportunity to inaugurate a bench in the hospital's playground.
But the one person who will probably be remembered from Trump's visit over a much less subtle selfie is MK Oren Hazan, who dragged President Trump to be photographed, saying, "I wish I could do a selfie with you." Prime Minister Netanyahu tried to pull Hazan's hand down, but to no avail.
"I told Trump that people call me the Israeli Trump, I told him how excited I was and that I was a fan of his and then I said to him, 'We need more people like us.' Then I simply added: So, what do you say, can I have a selfie?' So he said—come on. "
"Netanyahu was a little less fond of the idea," admitted Hazan, "but the president waited, and the embarrassing thing was that my phone was stuck. It was my chutzpah—even when the phone got stuck I insisted, turned it off, turned it back on. He was super patient—waited until I got my camera in order. We took the picture and let me tell you—for me, and I think that for him too, it was a historical moment."
A few hours after the incident, media outlets around the world reported with undisguised scorn on the strange moment at Trump's Ben-Gurion Airport reception. All the outlets emphasized Trump's and Netanyahu's dissatisfaction with the act, and many also reported the great embarrassment in Israel over the fact that Hazan and others, who were not invited, managed to infiltrate the ceremony.
(Translated and edited by Fred Goldberg and N. Elias)
