In the run-up to a snap election in Israel following a failed effort at forming a coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has placed large, multi-story hoardings on three sides of the Likud party headquarters in Tel-Avid.
Each side features a world leader: US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Coinciding with his campaign, Netanyahu shared a video on Twitter depicting his many moments of camaraderie with these three leaders, including his famous beach stroll with Modi. You can watch the video here.
The ad campaign featured the slogan "Netanyahu: In a different league". The inclusion of Putin was, in part, to target Russian-origin Israelis, who make up 12 per cent of the electorate at 770,000 people.
The board featuring Trump had been used in the last election, as a sign of the bond between Netanyahu and US leadership — a bond vindicated by Trump's statement recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Netanyahu's inclusion of Modi is a testament to the friendship that the two leaders enjoy. Netanyahu was the first world leader to congratulate Modi after the BJP's general election victory. As was the case with Trump, this friendship was vindicated by India's later action's on the global stage — India joined Israel in June to vote against the inclusion of a Palestinian NGO, Shahed, at the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Netanyahu's public affirmation of Modi will also go down well with the 85,000 Indian-origin jews who hold Israeli passports and live in the country.
Netanyahu will need all the support he can muster, as the snap election is only being held because he was the first prime minister-designate in Israel's history to be unable to form a government.
