Netanyahu Is Betting His Reelection on a Smear Campaign Against NYC Mayor Mamdani, but the Strategy Is Backfiring in Unexpected Ways
Bibi’s blunder.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection strategy just took a bizarre turn, and it’s backfiring in ways he probably didn’t expect. According to Reality Tea, the Israeli prime minister has plastered a campaign billboard across Tel Aviv featuring New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani alongside Israel’s adversaries, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem.
The message is clear: these figures want Netanyahu out, and voters shouldn’t let that happen. But the move is already drawing more attention to Mamdani’s criticisms of Netanyahu than it is rallying support for the embattled leader. The billboard, which Netanyahu proudly shared on social media, shows Mamdani sandwiched between Khamenei and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with the text “They want Netanyahu to lose … Don’t let them win.”
It’s a bold attempt to frame Netanyahu’s domestic opposition as part of a broader, sinister coalition. The problem? It’s not working the way he hoped. Instead of galvanizing his base, the stunt is highlighting just how desperate Netanyahu’s campaign has become. Polls already show his right-wing coalition trailing, and this latest move feels more like a Hail Mary than a calculated strategy.
Mamdani hasn’t responded to the billboard yet
Mamdani, who has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, may have not responded to the billboard yet but he’s made his stance clear in the past. Last month, he called Netanyahu a “war criminal” who “belonged in The Hague,” and urged U.S. authorities to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant if Netanyahu attends the UN General Assembly in New York this September.
Those comments put Mamdani squarely in Netanyahu’s crosshairs. The Israeli leader fired back, accusing Mamdani of “fomenting hate” and warning that progressive Democrats aligned with the NYC mayor threaten the bipartisan U.S. support Israel has long relied on. Here’s the kicker, though: recent polling suggests Mamdani is actually more popular among American Jews than Netanyahu is.
That’s a stinging rebuke to Netanyahu’s claims that Mamdani’s rhetoric is dividing communities. If anything, the billboard might be doing more harm than good, painting Netanyahu as out of touch with the very allies he’s trying to court. It’s a risky gamble, especially when his coalition is already struggling to maintain momentum ahead of October’s elections.
This isn’t the first time Netanyahu has leaned into controversial rhetoric to shore up support
The Guardian reports that earlier this week, he described the UK as “the Islamic republic of Britain”, playing into far-right Islamophobic tropes about the country’s Muslim population. He even joked that Britain could become “the first Islamic republic to get a nuclear weapon.”
The comments were widely criticized as inflammatory and tone-deaf, especially given the already tense global climate. But for Netanyahu, who’s facing pressure on multiple fronts, it’s all part of a broader strategy to rally his base by painting himself as the only leader tough enough to stand up to external threats – real or imagined.
The timing of this feud couldn’t be worse for Netanyahu. U.S.-Israeli negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire are stalling, and a high-profile meeting between Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, ended without any breakthrough. Israel is refusing to withdraw troops from Gaza until Hamas agrees to disarm, a demand that’s only deepening the stalemate.
With the ceasefire talks going nowhere and his domestic popularity waning, Netanyahu is clearly feeling the heat. The billboard featuring Mamdani is just the latest example of how he’s trying to shift the narrative, even if it means dragging an American mayor into Israel’s political mess.
For Mamdani, this sudden spotlight is probably unexpected
His criticisms of Netanyahu’s treatment of Palestinians have been consistent, but they’ve rarely drawn this level of attention. Now, he’s being used as a prop in Netanyahu’s reelection campaign. The billboard might resonate with some voters, but it’s also giving Mamdani’s arguments more visibility than ever. If Netanyahu’s goal was to discredit the NYC mayor, he might have just handed him a bigger platform instead.
What’s next for this bizarre political feud? Mamdani hasn’t publicly addressed the billboard yet, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll stay silent for long. His comments about Netanyahu being a “war criminal” were already making waves, and this latest development is only going to amplify them.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is doubling down, posting videos of Mamdani’s remarks on social media and framing himself as the victim of a global smear campaign. It’s a high-stakes gamble, and one that could easily blow up in his face if voters see it as a distraction from the real issues at hand, like the stalled ceasefire talks and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
One thing’s for sure: this election season in Israel is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable in years. Netanyahu’s decision to turn an American mayor into a campaign issue is a sign of just how desperate he is to cling to power. But with his coalition trailing in the polls and his international reputation taking hit after hit, this strategy might just remind voters why they were ready for a change in the first place.
(Featured image: The White House)
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