Netanyahu accused of mocking Eisenkot's slain son in AI-generated campaign ad
Following the backlash, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Likud released a revised version of the video in which the young man was replaced by a woman
An AI-generated Israeli campaign ad is getting backlash. In a video published Monday night by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party, Yashar party leader and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot can be seen running with his arms open toward a young man portrayed with a shirt that said "Israeli unity." The Eisenkot character would then veer away at the last moment to embrace the Arab Ra'am party leader Mansour Abbas.
However, many on social media have said that the young man in the video bears a striking resemblance to the opposition leader's late son Gal Eisenkot, who died in a tunnel explosion in Gaza in December 2023 while serving as a reservist in an army commando unit. Thousands attended his son's funeral, including Netanyahu.
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The backlash was swift. Former Likud minister Limor Livnat condemned the video, writing, "How pathetic, Bibi. Arthur Finkelstein would never have approved a video like this about a rival whose son fell in a war you managed and failed in, while your own son spends his time in Miami. How low can you go? Shame on you." Former IDF spokesman Avi Benayahu called the video "insulting" and "humiliating" to Netanyahu himself, writing, "This harms you. It will harm you."
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The young man in the video is never explicitly identified, and Netanyahu's team denied any connection with Eisenkot's son. The Prime Minister and Likud then released a revised version of the video in which the young man was replaced by a woman. Alongside the new clip, Netanyahu wrote, "There is a shocking attempt by extremists online to create false conspiracy theories in order to conceal the simple truth. Gadi Eisenkot has no government without the Arab parties and Yair Golan."
Yashar responded by publishing a supercut of Likud politicians praising Abbas over the years, including now-Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli saying he was "very impressed by the very moderate line represented by Mansour Abbas." The clip ended with the message: "Netanyahu has no government without the non-Zionist parties."