Tea Party fizzles in Tel Aviv

According to a story in today's NY Times, a hard-right faction of the Likud attempted a "Tea Party" rally in Tel Aviv on Sunday, intending to stiffen Prime Minister Netanyahu's resolve to resist American efforts to persuade him to renew a freeze in settlement construction:

....Tea Partiers had gathered under the slogan: “Say No to Obama.”
They said they wanted to strengthen Mr. Netanyahu’s resolve to withstand the pressure. And there was an underlying threat of political consequences should he not.
But neither the meager display of red and black balloons, nor the handwritten signs on the walls saying no to the American president in Hebrew, English and Russian, nor even the refreshments, seemed to energize the crowd of a little over 100.
In Tel Aviv, famed as a city that never sleeps, the Tea Party inaugural event was over by 8:45 p.m., not two hours past its scheduled 7 p.m. start time, and most of the audience looked ready for bed. ...