TEL AVIV (Reuters) – A statue in a Tel Aviv plaza of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoying a “Last Supper” party added a new bite on Wednesday to growing protests against his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
A work of art by Israeli artist Itay Zalait, which includes a sculpture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sitting at a table remembering the famous “Last Supper,” amid a wave of almost daily protests against Netanyahu’s alleged corruption and handling from his government of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), shown in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 29, 2020. REUTERS / Ammar Awad
Netanyahu, whose popularity has plummeted in opinion polls amid 21.5% unemployment, said his representation in a mock table of Jesus’ final meal before his crucifixion amounted to a death threat.
In the installation, Netanyahu sits alone at a large 10-meter (33-foot) long table with two chandeliers, clutching a huge cake that resembles an Israeli flag.
Moet & Chandon champagne, Chivas Regal whiskey and Courvoisier cognac are placed alongside a wide variety of fruits and meats, accompanied by a single cigar, to allude to allegations of corruption against Israel’s oldest prime minister.
Netanyahu denies having acted illegally in three corruption cases against him, including allegations that he illegally received gifts of champagne and cigarettes from prosperous businessmen.
His trial, the first for a sitting Israeli prime minister, opened in May and witnesses will begin to testify in January.
Passers-by, many of them wearing face masks, stopped to take photos of the sculpture by Tel Aviv artist Itay Zalait. He said the work should symbolize the “Last Supper of Israeli democracy.”
“Many people refer to (Netanyahu) as a genius: Mr. Economy, Mr. Security. He is more than anyone, he is like the son of God,” said Zalait, standing next to the sculpture.
“Sir. Economy … people don’t have food for their children,” he said.
Netanyahu, who has raised charges of autocratic rule by using emergency regulations to speed up edicts of social estrangement, turned to Twitter to label the exhibition “a shameful threat of crucifixion.”
The Last Supper, as shown on a 15th-century mural by Leonardo da Vinci, shows Jesus at the table with his apostles in Jerusalem. The mural, one of the most famous paintings in the world, is located in a convent in Milan.
Zalait’s work is on display in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, where several protests against Netanyahu were held this summer.
Report by Rami Amichay, Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Writing by Alexandra Hudson
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