JERUSALEM — In a provocative campaign ad released late Tuesday night, the right-wing justice minister of Israel, moving in slow motion and cast in black and white, appears to be modeling for a luxury perfume. “Fascism,” the perfume bottle label reads — a taunt to the minister’s critics, three weeks before Israelis vote. Israeli political ads make even their cheekiest American counterparts look staid by comparison: In the sprint to Election Day, voters’ social media feeds have been buffeted by ads showing an actual targeted killing and a less authentic flatulent hippo. Perhaps, then, it was only a matter of time before someone here turned “fascism” into the name of a perfume — spritzed on by Ayelet Shaked, the right-wing justice minister, whose combination of youthful attractiveness and zeal to curb the power of the liberal-leaning judiciary have made her the lawmaker the Israeli left most loves to hate.

Source: New York Times March 19, 2019 13:23 UTC