Israeli Spokesman Under Fire For Posting Blackface ‘Obama Style’ Photo Of Himself On Facebook

Sacha Dratwa, the 26-year-old lieutenant who heads the Israeli Defense Forces’ social media campaign, is facing controversy for a photo he posted on face — in which in faced is smeared with mud and the caption reads “Obama style.”

A screenshot of the photo in question, which was posted in September, is below:

The comments show mixed reactions, including one commenter who asked, “You know this is racist, yeah?” ABC News notes that “Dratwa appears to be smeared in mud from the Dead Sea, a popular activity for many visiting and living in Israel.” On Twitter, he responded to a user who called him racist, saying, “I’m not a racist, please stop [spreading] lies about me.”

He also penned a statement on Facebook — noting that he has decided to restrict public access to his page:

There have been attempts to make use of private photos from my Facebook profile in order to publicly misrepresent my opinions. Due to the amount of public attention I’ve garnered in recent days I have decided to restrict access to my page, in order to protect my privacy and prevent further cynical use of the information therein.

I am, and have always been, completely candid about my beliefs and have nothing to hide – as reflected by my Facebook profile, which until recently was open to everyone. The aforementioned photos do not reflect my beliefs and have no bearing whatsoever on my position in the IDF.

Sacha Dratwa

The recent Israel-Hamas conflict has drawn more attention to Dratwa, who runs the Twitter account @IDFspokesperson. “We believe people are getting information from social media platforms, and we don’t want them to get it from other sources,” he told Tablet Magazine. “We are the ones on the scene, and the old media are not on the scene as are the IDF.”