They Are Branded Netanyahu's Enemies: From Erdogan to Mamdani
The Likud party, led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has put up a giant billboard featuring a number of figures considered to be at odds with Israel. The billboard appeared ahead of the Israeli election scheduled for October 2026. Among the figures whose faces are displayed on the billboard are Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, and Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem. The billboard’s appearance comes as the political position of Netanyahu and Likud is under scrutiny.
The giant billboard was installed on a main Tel Aviv highway last week, in an area that serves as a campaign hub for Netanyahu’s camp. On the billboard, the faces of Erdogan, Mamdani, Mojtaba Khamenei, and Naim Qassem are presented as figures described as being at odds with Netanyahu. The billboard also carries a Hebrew inscription meaning, “They Want Netanyahu to Lose, Don’t Let Them Win,” as reported by CNN on Tuesday (25/8/2026). The billboard was installed ahead of the Israeli election to be held on 27 October.
Erdogan’s appearance on the billboard comes amid rising tensions between Israel and Turkey. A few days after the billboard was installed, Israeli fighter jets struck the Abu al-Dahar airbase in northern Syria, which hosts Turkish forces and military assets. The US Presidential Envoy for Syria and US Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, criticised the attack. He assessed Israel’s action as highly aggressive and raised the possibility of political motives ahead of the election. Barrack floated the theory that Israel was merely trying to provoke Turkey. He described the action as “a very aggressive move, but perhaps politically advantageous ahead of the general election.” Israel itself stated that the attack was carried out due to operational necessity. Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli intelligence had detected Turkish preparations to deploy forces and equipment at the airbase.
Amid the situation, Likud is also facing challenges in the upcoming election. According to a Channel 12 survey conducted on Friday (20/8), Likud is projected to win 21 seats and is in second place. The Yashar party, founded by former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, is in first place with a projected 24 seats. The same survey showed 44 percent of respondents chose Eisenkot as their preferred prime ministerial candidate, while Netanyahu received 34 percent. In Israel’s political system, the prime minister is not directly elected by the people. Voters choose the parties that sit in parliament, and the president then appoints the party leader deemed most capable of forming a majority coalition to become prime minister.
Amid the emergence of several new parties, Netanyahu has urged right-wing voters not to cast their ballots for small parties that risk failing to clear the 3.25 percent threshold. “This election will be decided by every vote. Do not waste your vote on small parties that may not pass the threshold and could bring the left to power. Do not waste your vote. Preserve the right-wing bloc. Choose Likud,” Netanyahu said in an Instagram post on Monday (24/8). Another survey broadcast by Channel 12 on Monday (23/8) showed that a new party led by former IDF general Ofer Winter could win at least four seats in the Knesset. That result is expected to reduce the strength of Netanyahu’s supporting bloc to 49 seats, while a majority to form a government requires 61 seats. On the other hand, the anti-Netanyahu bloc is projected to win 60 seats. The situation makes the race towards the Israeli election increasingly tight. Meanwhile, there is speculation that escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip could be exploited to influence the political situation ahead of the vote. Senior Israeli military officials even stressed, “We will not engage in a new unnecessary war.”