Democrats Party Withdraws Campaign Using Ehud Manor's Song After Family's Objection

The Israeli Democrats party launched a new election campaign featuring a line from the song "Ein Li Eretz Acheret" (I Have No Other Country), written by the late Ehud Manor. However, Manor's family objected to the political use of the song, leading the party to immediately remove the campaign from all platforms. The campaign visually contrasted members of the Democrats list with coalition public officials, highlighting the slogan "I will not be silent because my country has changed its face." The Democrats emphasized their respect for Manor's family and acted promptly upon learning of the copyright issue.

The campaign gained significant traction on social media within the left-wing bloc. Notable figures such as MK Naama Lazimi shared images from the campaign, pairing her photo with that of far-right Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and criticized the current government for promoting extremism, undermining democracy, and fostering division. Other candidates like Efrat Rayten, Gilad Kariv, and Moshe Redman echoed similar messages about defending democratic values against what they described as a government influenced by Kahanism and racism.

In response, the Likud party ran its own campaign featuring a billboard with images of Hezbollah's Naeem Qassem, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, and Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warning voters not to let "them" defeat Netanyahu. This campaign was also promoted by the Iranian Fars news agency, which framed it as Netanyahu's fear of the "Leader of the Revolution" affecting Israeli elections.

Meanwhile, the "Yashar" party led by Gadi Eizenkot released a video criticizing Likud, calling it a disaster and accusing it of having no achievements. The Democrats' campaign removal underscores the sensitivity around cultural works' use in political messaging and the ongoing heated rhetoric in Israel's election season.