Likud mocks Blue and White for billboards in Cyprus
"I hope he receives more votes from Cypriots than he gets from Israelis," MK Mickey Zohar said.
By GIL HOFFMANBlue and White leaders Benny Gantz (L) and Yair Lapid (R) embrace during a campaign event, February 21st, 2019(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
The Likud poked fun at Blue and White on Friday for taking out billboard advertisements on the side of the highway near the airport in Larnaca, Cyprus.The ads depict Blue and White leader Benny Gantz alongside the party’s campaign slogan “Israel before everything.” Blue and White campaign strategist Israel Bachar told The Jerusalem Post on Friday that the advertisements were intended to reach Israelis on vacation.“Thousands of Israelis are vacationing in Cyprus, and seeing a positive ad that says ‘Israel before everything’ makes them feel proud of their country – and from the campaign point of view, we are drawing attention to our message,” Bachar said. Gantz’s spokesman added that, “it is important to reach out to Israelis everywhere.” Likud ministers and Knesset members told the Post that they thought advertising in another country sends the wrong message.“It is unsurprising that a man – who would deliver a victory speech as if he was elected prime minister after the results of one exit poll in an election he lost – is so disconnected from reality that he thinks he can get elected prime minister of Israel using propaganda among the Cypriots,” Environmental Protection Minister and Likud MK Ze’ev Elkin said.“I hope he receives more votes from Cypriots than he gets from Israelis,” said fellow Likud MK Miki Zohar. Other Likud MKs said the ads were especially inappropriate because of the recent incident in which 12 Israeli teens were accused of raping a British woman in Cyprus.“Billboards in Ayia Napa are apparently what is next for them,” MK Yoav Kisch joked.
