Yashar Party attracts attention with middle-finger billboards
“This time, don’t vote for politicians who will give you the finger in return,” is how the message on the billboard loosely translates.
By LAHAV HARKOVA billboard, doctored to show top politicans giving the middle finger, located in Jerusalem(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
A series of mysterious outdoor advertisements went up around Israel in recent days, featuring photos of top politicians doctored so they appear to be giving passers-by the middle finger.“This time, don’t vote for politicians who will give you the finger in return,” is how the message on the billboard loosely translates. The original text plays on the fact that the words for “to vote” and “to point” are the same in Hebrew.Among the politicians pictured making the obscene gesture are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blue and White leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, and New Right leaders Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett.Billboards, doctored to show top politicans giving the middle finger, in central Israel, March, 2019 (Eli Eliyahu)The party behind the billboards is Yashar – which means “direct,” among other things – and calls to have citizens be able to vote via a smartphone application to influence their representatives’ daily decisions.The party put up 400 signs, mostly in the center of the country, including on the busy Ayalon Highway and at the Glilot Junctions in and near Tel Aviv.“The ‘middle finger’ campaign is making waves throughout the country,” a Yashar spokeswoman said. “The public is responding to it, because we all know this is the truth. The politicians don’t care about us.... Most of us don’t have who to vote for.”Yashar’s spokeswoman called for the public to download its app and influence its campaign.“That is how a party that does care about the voting public behaves,” she said.Yashar’s website says it is “the only one that promises real representation throughout the entire term.”
“Yashar puts you at the center and allows you to be a full partner in making decisions that directly influence your life,” the party’s website reads. “Yashar is changing the rules of the game and creating politics that work for you.”The party has not passed the 3.25% electoral threshold or even come near it on any poll.
