JDN

Na na na na na: Netanyahu’s response to question on pandemic handling

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades give a press conference prior to their meeting at the PM Office in Jerusalem on February 14, 2021. Photo by Marc Israel Sellem/POOL *** Local Caption *** ðé÷åñ àðñèñéàãñ áéáé øàù äîîùìä áðéîéï ðúðéäå

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mocked the media this week, saying reports on the government’s shortcomings during the pandemic were nitpicking and that reporters should instead be focusing on his successes.

During an interview Sunday night with Channel 12 anchor Yonit Levy, Netanyahu was asked whether the government had failed to act quickly during the pandemic, and responded with “I call it ‘na na na na na,’ let’s always look for something,” while waving his arms. “The main thing here is that we are leading the world in vaccinations, that we will exit [the pandemic] first, and I will push Israel to lead the world economically. But ‘na na na na na’ — let’s look for another point and another thing, but that’s the big picture.”

Netanyahu then predicted the phrase would become part of a sketch on the satirical skit show “Eretz Nehederet,” and indeed the clip quickly went viral, helped along by the prime minister and his social media team in some iterations.