Israeli Left Mocks \'Bibi\'s Bet on Romney\'

As my colleague Alan Cowell reports, President Obama's re-election could prove to be awkward for Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, since the conservative Israeli leader “was widely perceived in Israel and the United States as having supported the Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.”

Remarks by Mr. Netanyahu, in which he seemed to chastise Mr. Obama for not taking action to defend Israel from the threat of an Iranian nuclear bomb, were used in a television ad that ran in Florida during the final weeks of the campaign. That ad was produced by a Republican political operative who has worked for the Israeli prime minister. (During the secretly recorded address Mr. Romney gave to wealthy donors in Florida this year, he boasted that consultants working for his election “work for Bibi Netanyahu in his races.”)

Several observers detected more than a little awkwardness in video of Mr. Netanyahu with the American ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, o n Wednesday, in which he seemed to force a smile as he said, “I want to congratulate President Obama on his re-election.”

Video of Israel's prime minister asking the American ambassador to pass on his congratulations to President Obama.

A former Israeli prime minister who could challenge Mr. Netanyahu in upcoming elections, Ehud Olmert, criticized what he called his rival's failed attempt to interfere in the U.S. election as “a significant breach of the basic rules governing ties between nations.”

As the Israeli news blog +972 reported, Mr. Netanyahu's political opponents on the Israeli left, gloating over the failure of “Bibi's bet on Romney,” were filled with hope that Mr. Obama might soon remind their prime minister th at he'd backed the loser. In one image passed around on Facebook by Israelis on Wednesday, with Hebrew-language dialogue added in speech bubbles to photographs of the two leaders, the imagined exchange between the two men went like this:

Mr. Obama: “Benjamin, what's up? Say, remember how much you intervened and tried influence the presidential elections here in the States?”
Mr. Netanyahu: “Yeah, why?”
Mr. Obama: “Oh, no reason.”

Eyal Brave, via Facebook A composite image posted on Facebook on Wednesday, imagining a p ost-election conversation between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

Another image was shared by Israeli Facebook users who hoped that Mr. Obama's victory might be a harbinger of defeat for Mr. Netanyahu in the upcoming elections in Israel.

Shachar B. Cotani, via Facebook An image shared on Facebook by Israelis who are rooting for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lose the upcoming election.

Writing in The Forward, a Jewish-American newspaper, Josh Nathan-Kazis noted that one of Mr. Netanyahu's strongest supporters, Sheldon Adelson, a major Repub lican donor, had gambled and lost even more heavily on Tuesday's elections.

It's been a tough night for Jewish political mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino magnate who was the biggest political donor of the election cycle. Adelson and his wife had backed Mitt Romney with $20 million in donations to the pro-Romney super PAC. But his spending on failed Republican candidates went well beyond the top of the ticket.

Four additional Adelson-backed candidates lost their races tonight. In Virginia, Tim Kaine won the governorship over George Allen, whose super PAC had received $1.5 million from Adelson. In Florida, Bill Nelson won the Senate seat over Connie Mack, who Adelson had backed with $1 million. And in New Jersey, Adelson-backed Orthodox Jewish Republican Shmuley Boteach lost to Democratic incumbent Congressman Bill Pascrell.

In Florida's 18th Congressional District, Adelson-backed Republican Allen West narrowly trailed Democrat Pat rick Murphy, who was declared the winner by news organizations.

I want to play poker with Sheldon Adelson.

- Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) 7 Nov 12