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A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 8 February 2019

Netanyahu channeling Trump in Israel’s election campaign

By ARON HELLER, a different league.”
Associated Press More significantly, he is ex-
JERUSALEM (AP) — Seeking pected to host Netanya-
re-election under a cloud hu in a lavish state visit to
of criminal investigations, Washington shortly before
Israeli Prime Minister Benja- the April 9 election in Israel.
min Netanyahu looks to be In response to the bill-
channeling his inner Don- board ads, Valerie O’Brien,
ald Trump in an angry cam- spokeswoman for the U.S.
paign against perceived Embassy in Israel, clarified
domestic enemies. that the U.S. was “not in-
Drawing clear inspiration volved in Likud’s campaign
from Trump, Netanyahu’s messages or strategy.”
Likud party has plastered While beneficial in the
huge billboards of the short-term, some warn the
two leaders together and tight alignment with Trump
launched a Trump-like could have negative long-
weekly webcast to coun- term implications.
ter what it calls the “fake Israel, once a source of sol-
news” industry. id bipartisan support, has
The campaign reflects become an increasingly
Trump’s popularity in Israel, divisive issue among Ameri-
one of the few countries cans in recent years. A poll
where an alliance with the In this Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019 photo, an election campaign billboard shows Israeli Prime Minister conducted by the Pew
American president is con- Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, Israel. Research Center last year,
sidered a political asset. Associated Press for instance, found Repub-
But it also risks undermining impressed Israelis by back- Oren, a deputy minister Beyond a confluence of licans more sympathetic to
the traditional bipartisan ing out of the international and former ambassador to interests, Trump and Ne- Israel than Democrats by a
support for Israel among nuclear deal with Iran, re- Washington. “Netanyahu is tanyahu seem to share nearly 3-to-1 margin. Some
Americans. imposing stiff sanctions on just tapping into these cur- a populist streak against fear an eventual backlash
Despite his troubles at the Islamic Republic and rent global trends of peo- their countries’ more liber- from Democrats.
home, Trump has earned vigorously defending Israel ple living in a world of un- al establishments — to the “The more that Democrats
the appreciation of most in international forums. certainty who want strong, delight of their nationalist don’t like Trump, the more
Israelis by recognizing Jeru- “This administration, not just sometimes brutally strong, bases. that anything he associates
salem as their capital and Trump, has been the friend- leaders.” Netanyahu has responded himself with, in this case Ne-
moving the U.S. Embassy liest administration to Israel Netanyahu and Trump en- to a series of corruption tanyahu, gets drawn into
there. Trump has further since 1948,” said Michael joy strong personal rapport. investigations with Trump- that equation,” said Ron
Netanyahu also seems to like attacks on Israeli me- Klein, a former congress-
relish the American presi- dia, law-enforcement, ju- man who now chairs the
dent’s attitude toward the diciary and other “elites” Jewish Democratic Council
Middle East, not only on he believes are bent on his of America. “For those of us
Iran but also his hands-off removal. He is quick to de- who are pro-Israel, that’s
approach to the Palestin- ride any critic as a “leftist,” unhealthy.”
ian issue and Israeli settle- and, like Trump, has taken Netanyahu is not alone in
ment construction. After an to social media to whip up tapping into Trump’s ap-
icy eight-year relationship his base. peal. Likud backbencher
with Barack Obama, Ne- “Netanyahu is a person Oren Hazan recently said
tanyahu has gone out of who knows how to learn the highlight of his term
his way to praise Trump at and imitate others and was the selfie he took with
every turn. he’s been doing it in the Trump during a 2017 visit.
He also has held his tongue past two-three years since Even Netanyahu’s top
on Trump’s various scan- Trump rose to power,” challenger, former military
dals, even after a neo-Nazi said Barnea. “He’s been chief Benny Gantz, chose a
march in Charlottesville, far harsher in his domestic campaign slogan — “Israel
Virginia, when Trump ap- expressions and he knows Before Everything” — that
peared to defend the ac- that you create a political many viewed as echoing
tions of white supremacists. victory by pitting one sec- “America First.”
On a visit to Washington, tor against another.” But only Netanyahu has
Netanyahu even implored Trump, who endorsed Ne- molded his politics in
critics to stop questioning tanyahu in a fawning pre- Trump’s image.
Trump over the supposed Israeli election clip in 2013 He has long had a rocky
anti-Semitism of some of his — even before he got relationship with the me-
supporters. into politics — appears to dia and accuses it, along
While Trump’s isolationism, equally admire the Israeli with police and prosecu-
particularly his planned leader. tors, of being part of a “left-
pullout from Syria, may not On Instagram, Trump ist” witch hunt to force him
be good for Israel, his un- shared an image of the from office. Like Trump, he
abashed pro-Israel rheto- giant billboard over the has also gone after former
ric has made him popular Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv allies, floating conspiracy
domestically, said Nahum featuring the two smiling theories about an alleged
Barnea, one of Israel’s most and shaking hands under planned putsch by a Likud
influential columnists. the slogan “Netanyahu. In rival.q