Mamdani, not Trump, may be Netanyahu’s more useful campaign asset – analysis

Ahead of Israel's October election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign strategy has shifted from highlighting international alliances to emphasizing threats. In 2019, billboards featured Netanyahu with leaders like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Narendra Modi, conveying Israel's enhanced diplomatic standing. However, for the upcoming 2026 election, new billboards in Tel Aviv display figures such as Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, with the caption: “They want Netanyahu to lose. Don't let them win.”

“I think it's most appropriate for me to stay out of Israeli elections, but I may endorse somebody.”

This change reflects a pivot from campaigning on strength through relationships to campaigning on fear of enemies, especially as Trump has not yet endorsed Netanyahu and his approval among Israeli right-wing voters has significantly declined. Mamdani's inclusion is symbolic, representing the spread of anti-Israel politics in the Western mainstream, and serves to rally Netanyahu's hard-right base by portraying him as the leader Israel's adversaries most want defeated.