A senior adviser to Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, currently accompanying Gantz on a visit to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, has likened Trump in the past to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and insinuated that he colluded with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has also suggested that Trump play Russian roulette with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
In August 2017, Tzur tweeted: “Barack Hussain Obama left, Donald Adolf Trump arrived. Dying to see who comes next.”
הלך ברק חוסיין אובמה, הגיע דונלד אדולף טראמפ. מת לדעת מי אחריו.
— רונן צור - 🇮🇱 Ronen Tzur (@RonenRt) August 17, 2017
Similarly, in March 2016, Tzur tweeted: “Donald’s next book: Mein Trump,” playing on the spelling of Trump’s name (in Hebrew, “p” and “f” are represented by the same letter).
הספר הבא של דונאלד: ״מיין טראמף״
— רונן צור - 🇮🇱 Ronen Tzur (@RonenRt) March 1, 2016
In September 2017, during attempted negotiations between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, Tzur tweeted, “It seems right to me to suggest a compromise between Trump and Kim Jong: Russian roulette with two bullets. What will be will be.”
נראה לי נכון להציע פשרה בין טראמפ לקים ז׳ונג: רולטה רוסית עם 2 כדורים. מה שיהיה יהיה.
— רונן צור - 🇮🇱 Ronen Tzur (@RonenRt) September 23, 2017
In December 2016, Tzur tweeted, “It looks like U.S. President Putin has appointed Trump Secretary of State.
נראה שנשיא ארה״ב פוטין מינה את טראמפ למזכיר המדינה.
— רונן צור - 🇮🇱 Ronen Tzur (@RonenRt) December 11, 2016
In May 2017, Tzur tweeted, “What is surprising about Trump is that only one item has gone to the Russians until now.”
מה שמפתיע אצל טראמפ זה שרק פריט אחד עבר לרוסים עד עכשיו.
— רונן צור - 🇮🇱 Ronen Tzur (@RonenRt) May 16, 2017
Tzur posted several other derogatory comments on Twitter in 2016 and 2017.
When it became clear that the offensive tweets were being publicized just as Gantz is set to meet Trump in Washington, Tzur tweeted on Monday:
“Seeing that there is excitement among some members of the cult about some tweets from years ago, let me clarify: There were some issues on which the younger me thought differently from the president (not that it matters to anyone). Meanwhile, it turns out he is the most courageous U.S. president, and the most significant for the security of Israel in generations, and together with millions of Israelis: I salute him.”
The Likud Party responded in a statement:
“Political ignorance and irresponsibility on the part of Benny Gantz to bring with him the White House his personal adviser Ronen Tzur, who called the U.S. President ‘Donald Adolph Trump’ and posted a long series of tweets against him on social media. Let’s hope Gantz’s irresponsibility does not hurt Israel’s national interests vis-à-vis the U.S. government.”
