Netanyahu’s re-election hopes to trigger a vaccination campaign

With elections approaching in March, Netanyahu has put his vaccination campaign at the heart of the world at the heart of his re-election campaign – sending an aggressive blitz in the media showing that he was not great alone in leading the country out of the pandemic. He seems to be promising that a successful vaccination effort may cause voters to forget about his corruption test and the economic damage caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Netanyahu, like his good friend Donald Trump and other world leaders, often tries to use tightly controlled social media and press conferences to get past the traditional media – and the accompanying scrutiny. While this strategy has served Netanyahu well, his obsession with controlling the message is also threatening backing.

He is at the heart of a corruption case in which he is accused of favoring powerful figures in the media in exchange for good coverage about himself and his family. An extended lawsuit filed this week revealed 150 incidents showing meticulous control he said he was trying to impose on the media. This included pressuring a news site to ignore critical coverage about a lacy dress his wife was wearing, and pushing the site to publish photos of her meeting actress Leonardo DiCaprio.

Netanyahu’s tactics have also contributed to a nascent uprising in his own party. Two prominent defenders have accused him of creating a “personality cult” in his resignation speeches.

Since he became the first Israeli to receive the vaccine two weeks ago at a festival event broadcast live on national television, Netanyahu’s office has been pumping out a steady stream of statements, tweets and videos showing the Prime Minister removing the effects of the vaccine and demanding credit for making it accessible to the public.

“I have taken the vaccines with you and you are giving the vaccines,” he recently told health workers at a clinic in an Arab town in northern Israel, urging residents to get a bullet. The whole world is amazed at Israel. They write that Israel is a wonder. “

By many accounts, Israel has accomplished a great feat so far. In just over two weeks, the country has delivered the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine to nearly 1.4 million people, about 15% of its population. That is the highest rate in the world on a per capita basis, according to “Our World in Data,” an open source research site that compares official government statistics. Israel aims to vaccinate the majority of the population by the end of March – just around election time.

Netanyahu has made the campaign very personal. He welcomed the first shipment of vaccines at the airport. He received the vaccine on national TV, and made sure he was at health clinics to welcome the 500,000 and 1 million people who received the vaccine – with both events streamed live on YouTube.

Netanyahu boasts his friendship with key members of Pfizer and Moderna, meaning his connections helped get millions of doses of hard-to-get vaccines. “I talk to them all the time,” he asked recently.

Netanyahu rose to prominence in the 1990s largely thanks to media mastery. He is at rest on camera and able to speak in clear sound bites in Hebrew and American English. Despite his skill as a communicator, he has had a rocky relationship with the Israeli media.

Looking very much like Trump, he accuses the media of liberal bias and directing “budget hunting” against him. He has embraced social media and brags about going around traditional media to spread his messages. When he invites reporters to his press conferences, he rarely raises questions.

Last week, Netanyahu welcomed U.S. spy Jonathan Pollard convicted to Israel, seized on a 35-year-old saga. “What a minute,” Netanyahu said on airport tarmac in the middle of the night. Only one medium was invited to see the moment. Netanyahu’s office released smartphone photos and video taken by a supporter.

Materials distributed by his political party, Likud, go further. In November, he released a video of Netanyahu getting a haircut and going to a vegetable store – a message that he was doing his part to help businesses struggling with the country’s economic crisis.

“We thank you for the 24 hours each day you give to the people of Israel,” the barber told him. “Prime Minister No. 1!” Shouted a supporter as he left. from the minimarket.

Gideon Sa’ar, a former Netanyahu distillery, broke away from Likud last month to form his own party, accusing Netanyahu of turning Likud into a tool for personal survival. and he was going to court.

Zeev Elkin, a longtime trustee of Netanyahu, joined Sa’ar. “Mr. Prime Minister, you have destroyed the Likud and have a sense of culture of personality, sycophancy, fear of expressing criticism, and Byzantine court,” he said.

Saar’s new party, which is courting other right-wing voters not governed by Netanyahu’s rule, has emerged as a strong force. Opinion polls predict Sa’ar’s party ends in second place, behind the Likud, but at the head of a mix of anti-Netanyahu parties that could collectively end Netanyahu’s 12-year rule.

Netanyahu complains that his competitors are motivated by little more than bitter grunts and shared animation towards. He says they are targeting small politics while doing “major vaccination work” that will force Israel to become the first country out of a coronavirus crisis.

It is unclear whether Israel will receive enough vaccines to maintain the rapid pace of inoculations. It is also unclear whether Netanyahu’s message will go against the forces of voters who lost their jobs – especially with the country in its third lockout as they embark on a revolution. out new.

Meanwhile, the Netanyahu corruption trial, which is set to begin in the coming weeks, is looming. He has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and acceptance of bribes. The worst of the allegations alleges that he violated beneficial rules that benefited telecom company Bezeq in exchange for favorable coverage about him on the company ‘s popular Walla news site.

“He wants the media to love him, but he hates the media at the same time,” said Tehilla Shwartz Altshuller, a senior at the Israeli Institute for Democracy.