Netanyahu Unveils 4-Figure Billboard as Likud Swaps Trump Backing for Enemy Warning
Updated
Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Aug 17
Netanyahu Unveils 4-Figure Billboard as Likud Swaps Trump Backing for Enemy Warning
3 articles · Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Aug 17
Summary
Tel Aviv billboards ahead of October’s election show Mojtaba Khamenei, Zohran Mamdani, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hezbollah’s Naim Qassem under the slogan: “They want Netanyahu to lose. Don’t let them win.”
Likud’s new message marks a sharp break from 2019, when Netanyahu campaigned on photos with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi; now it is framing his value through the hostility of Israel’s adversaries.
Trump said Monday it was “most appropriate” to stay out of Israeli elections, though he added he may endorse someone, depriving Netanyahu so far of the explicit backing that once featured prominently in Likud campaigns.
Polls also help explain the pivot: the share of Israelis who said security is a central Trump concern fell to 28% in July from 60% in March, with the right-wing figure dropping to 35% from 70%.
Mamdani’s inclusion broadens the ad’s target beyond military foes, signaling that Likud sees hard-line anti-Israel politics in the West as a useful symbol for mobilizing Netanyahu’s base.