Fans of Persian erotic classics can now count hawkish Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu among their ranks.
According to the Times of Israel’s Ilan Ben Zion, Netanyahu’s verified Twitter account was listed as one of 15 followers of Persian Hot Book, an account that describes itself as “the first library of hot sex books [in the] Persian language.”
Screengrab via Twitter
The website for Persian Hot Book, which inexplicably features a stock photo of a cat, lists its goals as “open education about sexual and religious practices based on obliquity prevent youth,” “valuing family and marriage,” and “medical issues and sexual dysfunction” (thanks, Google Translate!)
Unfortunately, representatives for Netanyahu’s Likud Party don’t seem nearly as invested in promoting “open education about sexual and religious practices based on obliquity prevent youth.”
“It was a malfunction and the issue will be checked. In any case, the account was removed immediately,” a Likud rep told Israel Radio’s Chico Menashe in a tweet.
Although Netanyahu’s people quickly took charge of his Twitter account (he is now following only 81 accounts), the damage was done. Iranians and Israelis alike took to Twitter to make jokes at his expense. Many referenced a similar gaffe last week, in which Netanyahu claimed on BBC Persian TV that Iranians would only be free if they wore blue jeans and listened to Western music:
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Of course, it’s likely that Netanyahu’s people had no idea they were following Persian Hot Book, and that they were using a program that follows random or spam accounts (it’s probably the same reason why Barack Obama follows this porn star [NSFW] on Twitter). But isn’t it more fun to assume that Bibi’s trying to infiltrate the minds of Iranian youth, one denim reference and ancient Persian erotica manual at a time?
H/T BBC News | Photo via IsraelinUSA/Flickr
