Israel Votes 2009: CIC’s David Weinberg Watches the Parties’ TV Ads

David Weinberg, Director, CIC Israel Office tunes in as the parties launch their TV and radio ads.

Kadima, Labor, Likud, Shas and Israel Beiteinu are slugging it out on radio and television this week, in a concentrated slew of political advertisements. It is the most entertaining show in town! (By law, the main Israeli radio and television stations each have to devote two hours a day of such free campaign ad time to the parties, based on their current standing in Knesset).

Labor is playing it straight, pitching Ehud Barak (and featuring only Barak) as a straight-shooting, experienced and dependable military and diplomatic leader. Since none of the other parties are devoting any negative campaigning to Barak, this seems to be sufficient. And indeed, Labor is rising in the polls, apparently at the expense of Kadima.

Kadima is running two types of ads: Building up Livni and ripping apart Bibi.

The Livni ads show her kissing Condoleezza Rice, shaking hands with Ariel Sharon, accompanying Barack Obama on a tour of Sderot, speaking at the UN, and so on – all meant to portray her as an experienced diplomatic leader for Israel. The ads credit her for the “success” of Israel’s global campaign against recognition of Hamas. They also promise that she will continue to fight religious coercion and governmental corruption. They say little to nothing about her current diplomatic positions or how far she would be willing to go in peace talks with the Palestinians.

Kadima’s anti-Likud ads savage Netanyahu as a liar, a failure, and an inconsistent politician. They blame him for sparking unnecessary violence when he opening the Western Wall tunnels 10 years ago, and mock his failed assassination attempt on Hamas’ Khaled Mashal in Jordan. They allege that his previous term as prime minister was marked by corruption, and argue that he crushed the weaker economic sectors of society. They say he voted for, then against, the Gaza withdrawal. They warn that a Netanyahu government would bring Israel into sharp conflict with Washington

Kadima, however, is slipping badly (down to 19-20 seats) in this weekend’s polling, losing voters to both Labor and Likud.

Likud’s ads both present Netanyahu as “strong” on both defense and economic issues. They promise an “iron fist” against Israel’s enemies, and a “steady hand” at the economic helm. They highlight his (eventual) opposition to the Gaza withdrawal and his warnings five years ago that Ashdod and Ashkelon would face Palestinian missile fire (as indeed they now have). Likud’s ads also point to the broader leadership team that makes up the Likud slate for Knesset.

As for Tzipi Livni, Likud ads dismiss her as a failed foreign minister who believes too much in international guarantees and institutions. Interestingly, none of the Likud ads criticize the Livni-Barak government’s handling of the recent Gaza war, even though Bibi has said publicly that the diplomatic endgame was mishandled.

Both Shas and Israel Beiteinu are trying to poach centre-right and right-wing voters from the front-running Likud, and each is attacking Netanyahu (and Livni) as insufficiently nationalist.  

Shas’ ads focus on the fight to keep Jerusalem united, accusing everybody else of preparing to bring Iran and its minions into the eastern half of the city. Livni, say the Shas ads, refuses to “hand-out” baby bonuses to the poor (a central demand of Shas), while preparing to “hand-over”  Jerusalem to the Palestinians.

Avigdor Lieberman’s Israel Beiteinu is running a fierce, harsh, and apparently effective anti-Arab campaign, accusing Israeli Arabs of being a fifth column. (The party could become the third largest in Knesset; it is currently polling 16 seats). Lieberman’s dramatic and graphic ads show news clips of pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah rallies in the major Israeli Arab cities, along with clips of harsh Knesset speeches by Ahmad Tibi and Azmi Bishara (two very outspoken and unfriendly Israeli Arab MKs). Israel Beiteinu’s slogan is: “(If) No Loyalty, (then) No Citizenship (for Israeli Arabs).”

Meretz and the Arab communist party Rakah-Hadash are responding, by the way, with equally harsh anti-Lieberman ads. “No Bibi, No Shas, and No Lieberman,” if you vote for us, promises Meretz.

There are dozens of single-issue, fly-by-night political parties running homemade commercials on TV too, ranging from environmental to immigrant parties. Perhaps the strangest ad is by Holocaust survivors who ask the public to support the Green Leaf party, which advocates legalization of marijuana! You can watch it below:

Possibly related posts:

• Israel Votes 2009: CIC’s David Weinberg Crunches the Numbers
• Israel Votes 2009: CIC’s David Weinberg on the Obama and Ross Factors
• Israel Votes 2009: CIC’s David Weinberg on the Campaign’s New Faces
• Israel Votes 2009: CIC’s David Weinberg on the Impact of the Conflict with Hamas
• Israel Votes 2009: Polls – Likud leads Kadima by 4 Mandates