Friday, November 18, 2011

Bibi and Abbas lock lips for Benetton

You may have thought you’d never see the day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas get to first base – and you probably never will. But that didn’t stop Italian clothing company Benetton from giving the world an idea of what it would look like if the two engaged in a little "kissy face."

Benetton just launched a campaign for their Unhate Foundation featuring various world leaders who are in conflict making out. The doctored photos included President Obama with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il and Pope Benedict XVI with prominent Egyptian Imam Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb. That last image was removed from the campaign following complaints from the Vatican.

The purpose of the campaign is to ask people “to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think,” the foundation’s website tells viewers. “Don’t hate, Unhate.” The foundation is working to support social initiatives that promote tolerance in areas of the world where hatred has created conflict and injustice.

Whether the kissing odd couples will follow this message or not remains to be seen, but for all of us who’ve wondered if Bibi and Abbas would make a cute couple – imagination is no longer required.

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