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The Schmooze

Avigdor Lieberman Can’t Carry a Tune

There are many Israelis, especially those on the left side of the political spectrum, who would describe Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman as having a tin ear when it comes to recognizing socio-political realities.

Lieberman’s opponents will feel especially validated now that it turns out that he is actually — and totally — tone deaf. If the painful sound of his singing Hatikva, the national anthem, at a pre-[Rosh Hashanah](https://forward.com/schmooze/320610/rosh-hashana/ “Rosh Hashanah”) gathering of members of his Yisrael Beiteinu party on Monday, is any indication, it seems as though Lieberman would not be able to sing on key if his life depended on it.

This video, posted yesterday on Facebook by Tal Reznik, a video editor at the Israeli website Walla, will likely provide some good comic fodder for the minister’s political opponents. Reznik noted when posting the video that, though it didn’t make it into the news story he was working on, but he felt he had to let people see it.

Lieberman is heard at the beginning of the footage announcing to the crowd that immediately following his leading them in Hatikva, they should move into another room to “make a l’chaim.” The Shmooze bets those party members really needed that drink.

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