Tel Aviv, Aug 18 (V7N)- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has placed New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on an election billboard alongside Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The billboard was installed along Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway as part of Likud’s campaign ahead of Israel’s upcoming general election.
The advertisement features photographs of the four figures with the slogan: “They want to defeat Netanyahu, don’t let them win.”
The campaign appears designed to portray Mamdani alongside figures whom Likud considers political opponents of Israel and Netanyahu.
Israel is scheduled to hold its general election on October 27, with Netanyahu seeking another term as prime minister. Opinion polls have indicated that his coalition faces a relatively difficult position ahead of the vote, prompting the Likud campaign to emphasize national security and opposition to Netanyahu.
Mamdani’s inclusion on the billboard follows his repeated criticism of Netanyahu and Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. He has previously described Netanyahu as a “war criminal” and sharply criticized Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territory.
Mamdani had also previously said he would seek to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister visited New York for the United Nations General Assembly. He later acknowledged that the New York Police Department does not have the authority to arrest a foreign leader based on an international warrant.
The Likud billboard has triggered criticism inside Israel as well. The Yashar Party, led by former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot, responded with a billboard modeled on the Likud advertisement.
Its slogan reads: “They want to destroy the IDF, they won’t let Netanyahu win.”
The inclusion of Mamdani has generated particular debate because, unlike Khamenei, Qassem and Erdogan, he is an elected US politician rather than the leader of a foreign state or an armed organization.
The controversy has therefore added another dimension to Israel’s increasingly confrontational election campaign, with Netanyahu’s Likud seeking to portray its political opponents as part of a broader challenge to his leadership.
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