--- description: Judy Nir Mozes Shalom, wife of Israeli Interior Minister Silvan Shalom, caused a stir on Twitter on Sunday title: Israeli Interior Minister's Wife Tweets 'Racist' Obama Joke image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf66165c1d6be2f8f/698855823c16397fe245879c/rtx1hbou.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Israeli Interior Minister's Wife Draws Ire With 'Racist' Obama Tweet by [Alissa Greenberg](/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2015 3:24 AM CUT  U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the United States Conference of Mayors in San Francisco June 19, 2015 U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the United States Conference of Mayors in San Francisco June 19, 2015Kevin Lamarque—Reuters by [Alissa Greenberg](/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2015 3:24 AM CUT Judy Nir Mozes Shalom, wife of Israeli Interior Minister Silvan Shalom, caused a stir on Twitter Sunday after sharing a controversial joke that many are calling racist. “Do u know what Obama Coffee is? Black and weak,” wrote Shalom, whose husband is partially responsible for maintaining Israel’s good relationship with the U.S., [_Haaretz_](http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.662316 "undefined") reports. The post provoked an angry response before it was hastily deleted, with Twitter users accusing Shalom of being “racist” and doing “grievous damage” to foreign relations. Shalom tweeted an apology shortly thereafter, saying the line was “a stupid joke somebody told me.” > [](https://twitter.com/JudyMozes/status/612658283527176192) > [](https://twitter.com/JudyMozes/status/612658631163650048) \[[_Haaretz_](http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.662316 "undefined")\] ### These Teenagers Are Israel’s Future Soldiers  Israeli high-school seniors are instructed on the AK-47 assault rifle as part of a privately run military combat fitness training to prepare for national military service in Netanya, central Israel, Feb. 17, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  High-school seniors preparing to join the Israeli military participate in an urban fighting drill in Kibbutz Mizra, northern Israel, March 24, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  A high-school senior preparing to join the Israeli military participates in an urban fighting drill in Kibbutz Mizra, northern Israel, March 24, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  High-school seniors preparing to join the Israeli military participate in an urban fighting drill in Kibbutz Mizra, northern Israel, March 24, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  High-school seniors preparing to join the Israeli military participate in an urban fighting drill in Kibbutz Mizra, northern Israel, March 24, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  High-school seniors preparing to join the Israeli military later this year take part in a privately run training camp for military combat fitness near Yakum, central Israel, Feb. 13, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  High-school seniors preparing to join the Israeli military later this year crawl out of mud up to a grassy embankment during an exercise near Yakum, central Israel, Feb. 13, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  A high-school senior crawls through mud during an exercise near Yakum, central Israel, Feb. 13, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  A high-school senior drags a tire through mud during training near Yakum, central Israel, Feb. 27, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  An high-school senior pauses in mud during an exercise near Yakum, central Israel, Feb. 27, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  High-school seniors preparing to join the Israeli military later this year lie in foxholes during training in Shefayim, central Israel, March 5, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  High-school seniors walk into the sea carrying weighted bags the during military combat fitness training in Shefayim, central Israel, March 5, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP  An exhausted Israeli teen is helped by an instructor during military combat fitness training in Shefayim, central Israel, March 5, 2015. Oded Balilty—AP _Read next:_ [_Obama Uses N-Word in Frank Interview About Race_](http://time.com/3929917/obama-n-word-marc-maron-podcast-interview/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day_](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3929665/judy-mozes-shalom-israel-barack-obama-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3929665/judy-mozes-shalom-israel-barack-obama-twitter/"},"headline":"Israeli Interior Minister's Wife Draws Ire With 'Racist' Obama Tweet","datePublished":"2015-06-22T03:24:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:49:35.969Z","description":"Shalom's husband is partially responsible for U.S.-Israeli relations","url":"https://time.com/3929665/judy-mozes-shalom-israel-barack-obama-twitter/","keywords":["Barack Obama","Israel","twitter","Racism","Apology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf66165c1d6be2f8f/698855823c16397fe245879c/rtx1hbou.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alissa Greenberg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf66165c1d6be2f8f/698855823c16397fe245879c/rtx1hbou.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Obama speaks at Mayors Conference in San Francisco","caption":"Obama speaks at Mayors Conference in San Francisco","creditText":"Kevin Lamarque—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3929665/judy-mozes-shalom-israel-barack-obama-twitter/","name":"Israeli Interior Minister's Wife Draws Ire With 'Racist' Obama Tweet"}}]}] ```