In the run-up to a snap election in Israel following a failed effort at forming a governing coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had had large, multi-story banners placed on three sides of the Likud party headquarters in Tel-Aviv.
Banners of Benjamin Netanyahu with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin | Likud Twitter
Each side features a world leader: US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Coinciding with his campaign, Netanyahu shared a video on Twitter depicting his many moments of camaraderie with these three leaders, including his famous beach stroll with Modi. You can watch the video here.
נתניהו. ליגה אחרת. pic.twitter.com/07YGtjfXwL
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) July 28, 2019
The ad campaign featured the slogan "Netanyahu: In a different league." The inclusion of Putin was, in part, to target Russian-origin Jews, who make up 12 per cent of the electorate at 770,000 people.
The banner featuring Trump had been used in the last election, as a sign of the bond between Netanyahu and US leadership — a bond vindicated by Trump's statement recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Netanyahu's inclusion of Modi is a testament to the friendship that the two leaders enjoy. Netanyahu was the first world leader to congratulate Modi after the BJP's general election victory. Like with Netanyahu and Trump, this friendship had geopolitical payoffs, with India joining Israel in June to vote against the inclusion of a Palestinian NGO, Shahed, at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Netanyahu's public affirmation of Modi will also go down well with the 85,000 Indian-origin Jews who hold Israeli passports and live in the country.
Netanyahu will need all the support he can muster, as the snap election is only being held because he was the first prime minister-designate in Israel's history to be unable to form a government.
Netanyahu’s main opponent, Benny Gantz of the Blue and White party, had earlier expressed his hope that Trump and Putin were not aiding Netanyahu’s campaign. Gantz claims to run on a more secular platform than Netanyahu, and favours reopening peace talks with Palestine.
120 members of the Israeli Parliament, Knesset, will be elected on September 17, 2019. Incidentally, Netanyahu had earlier announced plans to visit India in September.
