Israeli passenger Asaf Rajuan, who helped overpower a terrorist aboard a flydubai aircraft last month, has become the subject of a viral social media comparison with US President Donald Trump, after a photograph of him celebrating his survival was placed alongside Trump's iconic image from the July 2024 assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
The side-by-side comparison shows both men with blood on their faces and their right fists raised in the air. The resemblance has attracted attention on social media, offering an unexpected moment of humor following the attempted hijacking.
Trump's original photograph, taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci on July 13, 2024, captured the then-presidential candidate moments after a bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Surrounded by Secret Service agents, Trump raised his fist and shouted "Fight!" as an American flag flew behind him.
The photograph quickly became one of the defining images of the 2024 presidential campaign, appearing on newspaper front pages and the cover of Time magazine.
Trump's iconic raised-fist photograph becomes viral internet meme
It also became an internet phenomenon. According to the meme-tracking website Know Your Meme, social media users produced countless adaptations, parodies, and illustrations of the raised-fist photograph. One early post by Elon Musk attracted well over 176 million views and three million likes.
Now, more than two years later, the image has found an unlikely Israeli counterpart.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Sunday, Rajuan laughed about the comparison.
"I didn't plan it," he said.
In a separate interview with Channel 12, Rajuan acknowledged that the comparison was circulating online, describing the resemblance as amusing and emphasizing that his own gesture had been completely spontaneous.
Rajuan's viral photograph taken midair after struggle with flydubai co-pilot
Rajuan said his photograph was taken while the aircraft was still airborne, following the struggle with the co-pilot who allegedly attempted to crash the September 30 flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
He had sent it to family and friends, barely noticing the blood covering his face.
"People told me to touch my face. I didn't even understand what they were talking about," he told the Post.
The Israeli father of two had rushed toward the cockpit after watching his wife and daughters thrown into the air as the plane plunged.
"I saw the end of their lives before my eyes," he recalled.
The photograph captured a moment of relief after a terrifying confrontation. Its resemblance to Trump's famous pose has since given Rajuan an unexpected place in the online afterlife of an iconic American image.