Likud Beiteinu Obama Poster in Russian. Photo: Facebook

Israel ‘s leading Likud-Beitenu political party, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed recent comments made by U.S. President Barack Obama with a campaign poster, which appeared on it’s Russian Language Facebook page, exhorting people to vote for the political party. The poster shows a hand holding a Likud-Beitenu ballot ticket with the words “Our Answer to Obama” written above it in Russian.

The posting on Facebook was accompanied by a link to a recent article about U.S.-based journalist Jeffrey Goldberg’s report that Obama said, “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are.”

“It is going viral on Facebook, and it is showing up on Russian speaking websites,” said Israeli political commentator and Algemeiner blogger Arik Elman. “This message is viral and informal and the idea is circulating. It is quite obvious actually.”

“The idea that you can vote against Obama by voting Netanyahu is catching on,” he clarified.

“In the beginning it was thought that Obama’s remarks would help Livni, but the recent polls about Livni show that her position is more precarious,” Elman added.

“The general position is that Obama has limited clout in Israel. Obama’s comments can’t be used against the Prime Minister and they will actually help him,” he concluded.

On Wednesday Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads the Likud-Beiteinu party, made his first public comments on the controversy, saying, “Only the Israeli people will determine who best represents the State of Israel’s vital interests.”