Netanyahu Targets New York Official in Campaign Billboard Amid Tight Polls

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party have placed a large campaign billboard in central Tel Aviv featuring Zohran Mamdani, a New York City official. The advertisement depicts Mamdani alongside the leaders of Iran, Hezbollah, and Turkey: Mojtaba Jamenei, Naim Qassem, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The poster includes the Likud emblem and the text, "They want Netanyahu to lose... Do not let them win."

Netanyahu defended the move by stating that Mamdani fosters hatred and creates friction between religious groups in New York. He also expressed concern that progressive Democratic leaders like Mamdani put U.S. support for Israel at risk. Mamdani has been a vocal critic of the war in Gaza, calling Netanyahu a war criminal and suggesting he should be tried at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

These campaign activities occur as Netanyahu seeks to keep his right wing coalition in power in elections scheduled for October. A recent Channel 12 poll conducted by the Midgam Institute suggests a tight race. The poll projects 60 seats for Jewish parties opposed to Netanyahu, which is one seat short of a majority without the support of Arab parties. The largest party in that poll is Yashar, led by Gai Eisenkot, with 24 seats, while Likud follows with 22 seats.

Reporting on the billboard differs by political lean. A center left source frames the billboard as part of a pattern of islamophobic clichés and notes that Netanyahu recently described the United Kingdom as the Islamic Republic of Great Britain. This source also characterizes the Israeli military action in Gaza as a genocidal repression.