Netanyahu Posts A.I. Video Pairing Mamdani With Iranian Ruler

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel posted an A.I.-produced campaign video on Friday that imagines Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor, making common cause with Iran’s supreme leader and others over Israel’s upcoming election. “Erdogan, bro, are you coming to the party of the fall of Netanyahu’s elections?” a computer-animated version of Mr. Mamdani asks in a phone call with an avatar of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the video, posted to Mr. Netanyahu’s personal X profile. The images are labeled as A.I.-generated. The video then shows avatars of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the Iranian leader, and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, joining the fictional conversation rejoicing at the prospect that voters will topple Mr. Netanyahu. Mr. Mamdani’s office declined to comment on the video. The enmity between the first Muslim mayor of America’s largest city and the longest-serving prime minister of Israel has only intensified in recent weeks. The video offered the latest example of how each leader has made opposition to the other part of their political profile, despite their very different jobs and the thousands of miles between them. Mr. Netanyahu, who is facing a tough re-election in October and is trailing in the Israeli opinion polls, has accused Mr. Mamdani of “fomenting hate,” and appealed to Israeli national security in criticizing the mayor, partly by including him among Israel’s enemies. Likud party billboards have plastered Mr. Mamdani’s face alongside the leaders of Iran and Hezbollah, the militant group in Lebanon that Israel has been fighting for decades. The video Mr. Netanyahu posted on Friday ends with him as the election victor, and Israel’s foes calling off the party. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .