Likud Billboard Displays NYC Mayor With Israel's Foes

Is Netanyahu's Mamdani billboard a desperate smear by a struggling leader or a fair reflection?

Published AUG 18

Likud Billboard Displays NYC Mayor With Israel's Foes

Story

Above: A billboard depicting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani alongside Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Aug. 16, 2026. Image credit: Benjamin Netanyahu via X

The Facts

Israel's Likud party erected a campaign billboard on Tel Aviv's Ayalon Highway depicting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani alongside Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with the slogan, "They want Netanyahu to lose. Do not let them win."
Haaretz
Arab News Japan
Netanyahu posted an image of the billboard on social media on Sunday, along with a video featuring Mamdani's criticism of him. The billboard appears ahead of Israel's Oct. 27 election, the first since the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, with polls showing Likud trailing the centrist Yashar party.
The Telegraph
New York Post

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

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ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Mamdani called Netanyahu a war criminal and promised to arrest him, then quietly admitted New York City has zero legal authority to do any such thing — a performative stunt that backfired embarrassingly. Netanyahu putting Mamdani on a billboard alongside Iran's supreme leader and Hezbollah's chief is a fair reflection of the political company Mamdani keeps ideologically. Condemning Israel while staying silent on Hamas massacres is partisan theater.

The Jerusalem Post

Tim Scott on X

Benny Johnson on X

Narrative B

Netanyahu plastering Mamdani on a Likud billboard next to Iran's supreme leader and Hezbollah's chief is a desperate political stunt from a leader trailing in the polls. Calling someone a war criminal and getting slapped on a campaign poster for it only proves the point — Netanyahu needs enemies more than he needs a platform. Polling shows Mamdani is more popular among American Jews than Netanyahu, which tells you everything about who's actually losing ground.