Critics accuse Netanyahu of mocking Eisenkot’s slain son in AI-generated ad

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's AI-generated campaign ad, shared on Tuesday, depicted rival Gadi Eisenkot rejecting "Israeli unity" in favor of Mansour Abbas of Ra'am. Critics, including journalists Guy Peleg and Barak Seri, accused Netanyahu of mocking Eisenkot’s slain son, Gal, by implying the young man in the ad was a stand-in for him. Likud denied this, stating, "The attempt by extremist elements to draw such a shocking comparison is merely an effort to conceal the simple fact that Gadi has no government without Yair Golan and the Arab parties." Netanyahu's aide later posted a revised ad with a woman in the "Israeli unity" shirt.

• In response, Eisenkot's Yashar party released a video highlighting past praise of Mansour Abbas by current Likud ministers, concluding, "Netanyahu has no government without the non-Zionist parties."
• Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz also shared an AI-generated ad showing Netanyahu embracing UTJ chairman Yisrael Goldknopf, who held a sign reading, "We will die and not enlist," with the message: "Bibi has no government without Goldknopf."
• Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party released its own AI-generated ad targeting left-wing MKs, depicting Gilad Kariv with Palestinian flags and pigs, and Naama Lazimi with portraits of Stalin and Mao.
• These ads, part of a broader campaign to portray Eisenkot's potential government as left-wing and dependent on Arab parties, were not labeled as AI-generated, despite a recent Knesset law requiring such disclosure.