Days before Israelis go to the polls, a campaign that began as a contest of ideas has slid into something harsher, with artificial images now carrying old fears and prejudices into the public square. Netanyahu's bloc and that of his centre-right rival Eisenkot stand level, and each side has learned that a fabricated face can wound more quickly than an argument. Among those caught in the crossfire are people whose sons and daughters were lost in war and whose grief has been turned into a weapon, a reminder of how fragile public life becomes when a nation is still living with its wounds. What th
As Israel's Election Nears, Campaigns Turn Ugly With AI-Generated Attacks and Personal Smears
Candidates who lost children in the Gaza wars, including Laly Derai, and relatives of former Hamas hostages have faced personal attacks and smear campaigns during the campaign.
"It is us or them," read the caption beneath two mothers of former hostages
Mark
Why does this campaign feel different from earlier Israeli elections?
Mimi
It's the first since October 2023, and several candidates carry that day personally. Grief has become part of the campaign material, as Laly Derai's case shows.
Mark
Both sides are using AI. Is it equal?
Luke
Both camps have used it, that's documented. But the reporting doesn't measure volume or reach, so I wouldn't say it's symmetrical or otherwise.
Mimi
The content differs too. Eisenkot's video mocks Netanyahu through Hamas and Iranian figures. Netanyahu's camp targets Arab-Israeli politicians as a threat.
Mark
What about the July video with the young man?
Luke
Be careful there. Critics said the man was made to resemble Eisenkot's son. Netanyahu's party denied that. It's a claim and a denial, not a settled fact.
Mimi
What's settled is that the clip caused outrage and that Eisenkot spoke of deep contempt afterward.
Mark
And the "monkey" remark?
Luke
The source says the word isn't necessarily a racial slur in Hebrew, yet it drew broad condemnation, including from Netanyahu. Whether it was intended racially is contested.
Mark
Will any of this move votes?
Luke
Nobody knows. The polls show a near tie, but nothing here shows these attacks change anyone's vote.
Il Polso
- Netanyahu's bloc and Eisenkot's bloc are neck and neck, so every AI-generated attack lands in a race where a few votes could decide everything.
- Both camps are flooding social media with fabricated videos, including a birthday clip that puts a Hamas figure in a tunnel and an AI Iranian leader threatening Netanyahu.
- A doctored clip of Eisenkot rejecting a young man who resembles his fallen son has ignited outrage, and his own sharp response has only fueled the feud.
- Bereaved candidates like Laly Derai face coordinated smears, threatening calls, and posters urging her to withdraw, while hostage relatives are set against each other in an image captioned 'It is us or them.'
- With the vote on Tuesday, the open question is whether the escalation reshapes coalition math around Arab-Israeli partners, and whether the most grieving voices will be driven from the race.
Days before Israelis go to the polls, a campaign that began as a contest of ideas has slid into something harsher, with artificial images now carrying old fears and prejudices into the public square. Netanyahu's bloc and that of his centre-right rival Eisenkot stand level, and each side has learned that a fabricated face can wound more quickly than an argument. Among those caught in the crossfire are people whose sons and daughters were lost in war and whose grief has been turned into a weapon, a reminder of how fragile public life becomes when a nation is still living with its wounds. What the voters decide on Tuesday will show whether this bitterness hardened the country or exhausted it.
On Wednesday, Gadi Eisenkot posted a video on X wishing Benjamin Netanyahu a happy 77th birthday, built from AI-generated characters. One figure, a Hamas member speaking from a tunnel, asked what could be wished for a man who has protected Israelis for twenty years, a jab at the charge that the prime minister helped keep Hamas in power in Gaza, which he denies. Then an AI version of Iran's supreme leader appeared and warned that one more round without victory would bring a bomb as a gift.
The clip is one sign of how the campaign has grown ugly in its final days. Polls show Netanyahu's bloc and Eisenkot's neck and neck before Tuesday's vote, and both sides are using a flood of synthetic images to paint rivals as weak, untrustworthy, or dangerous. Netanyahu's camp has been the heavier user. In July it posted a clip of Eisenkot pushing away a young man in a 'Israel unity' shirt to embrace Arab-Israeli candidate Mansour Abbas, a figure critics said resembled Eisenkot's son, killed in Gaza in 2023. The party denied it. Netanyahu's side has also used AI to stir fear of an opposition coalition with Arab-Israeli parties, through images of masks being pulled off and billboards reading 'The Right or Palestine.' Analysts call this incitement that treats an Arab party in government as illegitimate.
Eisenkot himself was called 'a monkey' by a senior commentator on the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14, a remark widely condemned, including by Netanyahu.
This is the first election since Hamas's October 2023 attack, and grief runs through the candidate lists. Laly Derai, who lost a son in Gaza, runs for the far-right Amcha Israel on universal conscription. She faces a smear campaign that invokes her son's death, phone calls at all hours, and posters near her home urging her to withdraw. She says it has only hardened her resolve to fight hateful rhetoric.
Hostage relatives have been drawn in too. A Likud-supporting page posted an image setting one hostage mother against another, captioned 'It is us or them.' With the blocs level, the questions are whether this escalation shapes the coalition arithmetic and whether bereaved families remain targets until the polls close.
On Wednesday, Gadi Eisenkot posted a video on X wishing Benjamin Netanyahu a happy 77th birthday. It was populated by AI-generated characters. One was a Hamas member speaking from a tunnel, asking what could be wished for the man who has been protecting Israelis for 20 years. The line plays on theories that the prime minister deliberately helped Hamas stay in power in Gaza, a charge Netanyahu vehemently denies. Soon after, an AI version of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei appears and tells Netanyahu that one more round without victory will earn him a bomb as a present.
The video is one example of how the campaign has turned ugly in its final days. Israelis vote on Tuesday, and polls show Netanyahu's bloc neck and neck with the bloc led by his main centre-right rival, Eisenkot. Candidates and activists are using a surge of AI-generated images on social media to portray opponents as weak, untrustworthy or harmful to the country, drawing on stereotypes and fears. Some of the attacks have crossed red lines.
Netanyahu's side has made heavy use of the same tools. In July, he posted a video showing Eisenkot turning away a hug from a young man in a T-shirt reading "Israel unity" and embracing Arab-Israeli candidate Mansour Abbas instead. Critics were outraged, saying the young man had been made to resemble Eisenkot's son, who was killed fighting in Gaza in 2023. Netanyahu's party denied that. In an interview on Channel 13, Eisenkot said watching the clip left him with "deep contempt for Netanyahu and his entourage."
Throughout the campaign, Netanyahu's camp has also used AI to stoke fear of an opposition coalition that includes Arab-Israeli parties. Clips show Jewish opposition politicians pulling off masks to reveal Arab-Israeli candidates underneath, and Arabs looming over what looks like a crumbling parliament building. Likud billboards bearing the phrase "The Right or Palestine" and the faces of Arab-Israeli politicians have gone up around the country. Thair Abu Ras, head of the Forum for Regional Thinking at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, called it incitement, especially from Netanyahu's camp. He told AFP the right wing considers an Arab party in a coalition illegitimate and is trying to impose that view on the Eisenkot coalition too.
Eisenkot, the son of Moroccan Jews, has also faced apparently racialised remarks. This month a senior commentator on the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 called him "a monkey." The word is not necessarily a racial slur in Hebrew, but the comment drew wide condemnation from opposition politicians and from Netanyahu himself.
This is the first election since Hamas's October 2023 attack, and several candidates are people whose lives were changed that day or in the wars that followed. Grief has not protected them. Laly Derai, whose son was killed fighting in Gaza in 2024, is running for Amcha Israel, a new far-right party that advocates universal conscription, an increasingly contentious issue because of exemptions for religious students. She says she has faced a coordinated smear campaign, some of it invoking her son's death and accusing her of betraying his memory. Posters near the West Bank settlement where she lives call on her to withdraw so as not to "put the country in danger."
Derai told AFP the attacks are trying to break her, but have strengthened her resolve to enter politics to end hateful rhetoric. She told public broadcaster KAN of phone calls at all hours, disgusting social media comments and signs posted in her towns, including near her children's school buses.
Relatives of hostages once held by Hamas have been pulled in as well. On Tuesday, an unofficial Facebook page for Likud supporters posted an image setting one mother of a former hostage against another. Likud candidate Talik Gvili appears calm before an Israeli flag, while Einav Zangauker, a vocal Netanyahu critic, looks frenzied amid protesters tinted red. The caption reads: "It is us or them." With the vote days away and the blocs level, the question is whether the escalation shapes coalition arithmetic, and whether bereaved candidates and hostage families stay targets until the polls close.
Citazioni salienti
It's incitement, especially from Prime Minister Netanyahu's camp.— Thair Abu Ras, Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
They're trying to break me, but this campaign has reinforced my decision to enter politics to end this hate-filled rhetoric.— Laly Derai, Amcha Israel candidate, to AFP
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