Israeli activists are seeking funds to put up billboards across Israel congratulating US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their inauguration on Wednesday.
The proposed billboard features the American and Israeli flags and a drawing of Biden and Harris with the message: “Democracy wins! Israelis congratulate Biden and Harris.”
“The objective is both to send a message of hope to the Israeli public and of solidarity with the Americans,” former J Street Israel Director Yael Patir, who privately launched the crowdfunding initiative, said.
The contact for the crowd-funding page is the Israeli Alliance, a get-out-the-vote group that seeks to have Israelis vote Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu out of office.
The page commends American democracy’s “resiliency and ability to overcome crisis.”
In reference to the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, the page states: “As we watched the horrible events that took place in Washington, the incitement, fake news, and attacks on democratic values that we know so well, we see a new hope; hope that is ignited by citizens who choose change.”
The activists behind the billboard initiative said they wish for “a safer and more united future built on the democratic values that unite our countries” and hope the message “will echo both in Israel and in the US.”
As of Saturday night, the Israeli Alliance raised NIS 13,750 from 101 people, out of the NIS 50,000 they seek.
Israel has seen many billboards in favor of US President Donald Trump in recent years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used Trump’s visage in election campaign posters, and Republicans in Israel bought advertisements for the president’s re-election campaign this year.
In addition, Friends of Zion, an organization publicizing the contributions of Christian Zionists to Israel, put up billboards thanking Trump for his support for Israel.