Gadi Eisenkot’s left-wing Yashar! party faced backlash after placing election campaign billboards across Cyprus, with both Cypriots and Israelis condemning the move.

The billboards were placed in Limassol and on the way to the airport. One billboard near the airport states: “Israelis, enjoy! You deserve it.” Another billboard, seen on the way back to the airport, states: “You landed? Had fun? Now it’s time to come back and win!”

Yisrael Hayom reported that Eisenot intends to install additional billboards in other countries that are popular tourist destinations for Israelis.

Phedias Panayiotou, a Cypriot member of the European Parliament, posted images of the campaign billboards on social media and stated: “This is an Israeli takeover. This photo wasn’t taken in Israel—it was taken in my country, Cyprus.”

“Today it’s political campaign ads, but it’s becoming increasingly common to see billboards across the island advertising real estate in Hebrew. This is simply not right. We must protect Cyprus’ sovereignty.”

An Israeli resident of Cyprus also slammed the move, telling Kan News. “It’s beyond me how anyone in Yashar!’s advertising department thought this was a smart or appropriate thing to do, especially at such a sensitive time for Israel’s international relations and for Israelis living abroad. I see it as rude and completely tone-deaf to how it’s perceived by the local population.”

Another Israeli, Neil Bar, wrote on social media: “If you’re driving these days on the roads around Limassol in Cyprus, you’ll come across this billboard. Aside from the fact that I don’t understand the strategy behind it, I also wonder if anyone on the campaign team even considered the implications of putting up a giant billboard like this in the middle of a major city in a foreign country.”

“The Cypriots already feel that the Israelis are taking over the country with their money. Billboards like these only reinforce the perception that we’ve turned them into our own province. That’s aside from the conspiracy theories already circulating. A Greek-language page with hundreds of thousands of followers has already translated the billboard’s slogan—apparently deliberately—as ‘Israelis, take what belongs to you,’ portraying it as evidence that Israelis view Cyprus as their own territory.”

“It was a very unwise move with little, if any, benefit.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)