Israel will hold parliamentary elections on October 27. Recent opinion polls show Likud, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trailing Yashar, the party led by former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot. Neither party has a decisive lead, however.
A few days before the election, Netanyahu posted a recording of a conversation with musician Andrey Makarevich, who has lived in Israel for the past several years. Makarevich, who holds both Israeli and Russian citizenship, expressed support for Netanyahu during the conversation.
Many people in Israel and beyond were unhappy with Makarevich’s support for Netanyahu, who divides opinion among Israelis. Some Israelis are dissatisfied with the prime minister’s domestic policies, as well as his government’s actions before, during, and after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.
“Wow, what a storm this has stirred up! A typhoon! A tsunami!” Makarevich wrote on social media.
Critics noted that the musician had supported Vladimir Putin in the early 2000s and that in 2008, his band, Mashina Vremeni, had taken part in the “Forward, Russia!” rally and concert on Moscow’s Vasilyevsky Spusk to celebrate Dmitry Medvedev’s presidential election victory. Makarevich later publicly criticized the Russian authorities on many occasions. In 2022, the musician, who spoke out against the war with Ukraine, was designated a “foreign agent” in Russia.
“God, what an absolute disgrace,” blogger Rustem Adagamov wrote, pointing out that the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and that the prime minister faces corruption charges in Israel.
Adagamov stressed that Makarevich had “spent years condemning the crimes of Putin’s regime, Russian aggression, and the killing of civilians,” but was now “having a friendly chat with a politician accused of extremely serious international crimes,” helping him “build a favorable public image.” “This isn’t about principles anymore — it’s hypocrisy and double standards,” the blogger wrote.
Some users on Facebook, where Makarevich’s conversation with Netanyahu has drawn the most discussion, supported the musician, saying that “everyone has the right to freedom of speech and freedom of choice.”
Makarevich responded to the comments:
Once again, my opponents have proved that their emotions run about a hundred times stronger than their brains — assuming they have any — and that they can outdo even the worst Kremlin trolls when it comes to being obnoxious. Pretty much what I expected. Building politics in our country around those attitudes is a bad idea. Take my word for it. I reserve the right to think what I think and say what I say. Enjoy the elections.
Israelis and the October 7 attack
- Three years since October 7: Israelis tell Meduza how the worst terrorist attack in their country’s history changed them and the world around them
- ‘Something like this has never happened before’ Meduza readers in Israel share their experiences of the October 7 Hamas attack
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