Props are a familiar part of Benjamin Netanyahu’s repertoire when delivering public speeches — from cartoon bombs at the United Nations to a wall of CDs and binders supposedly seized from Iran by Mossad agents.
Now, the former prime minister — famed for his flair for the dramatic — is hitting the campaign trail with a new shtick. Behold: the Bibibus.
As Israel heads to the polls for the fifth time in under four years, the veteran politician is using the Bibibus to attract passionate crowds of supporters and once again make himself the focus of attention among a weary electorate.
At a rally in the southern city of Beersheba on Tuesday, Netanyahu addressed a crowd of around 200 people in a mall parking lot. Flanked by his former finance minister, he spoke at a podium from the back of the modified delivery truck. Its side wall had been replaced with bulletproof glass, and its air-conditioned interior was backlit with an enormous LED screen projecting the logo of his Likud party over a fluttering Israeli flag.
Netanyahu does not actually ride in the vehicle. Instead, it serves as a mobile stage that is moved from city to city to serve as the backdrop for his campaign appearances.
Commentators have variously dubbed it the “aquarium truck,” the “Bibimobile” and the “Bibibus” — riffing on Netanyahu’s nickname. The Likud promotes the mobile rallies as “Bibiba,” or “Bibi is coming,” and says the truck is a necessary security precaution.
“I have to stand here, unfortunately,” he told the crowd, tapping his hand against the glass separating him from the throngs of cheering supporters before delivering pledges to combat rising costs of living and inflation.
The Likud says the vehicle and its bulletproof glass were adopted to comply with safety measures required by the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, The Associated Press reported.
But there may be more to the story. No other politicians have adopted similar protocols, and the bus is not entirely fortified. The bulletproof glass appears to cover only part of the vehicle, and when he spoke at the podium, a window was open and Netanyahu was exposed to the crowd. Netanyahu has also in the past repeatedly appeared at crowded markets and malls with no such protection. The agency did not respond to a request for comment.
Israel is holding parliamentary elections on Nov. 1, the fifth since the beginning of a protracted political crisis in early 2019. Like the other four, the upcoming vote will largely be a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule, and he could once again fail to form a durable coalition even if his party gets the most votes.
Netanyahu, who led the country from 2009 until last year, has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three different cases, and his high-profile trial has been dragging on for over two years. He has denied any wrongdoing and has lashed out against law enforcement and the courts, accusing them of conducting a politically motivated witch-hunt.
In the face of criticism, Netanyahu has doubled down and embraced the Bibibus. Likud released a campaign video with the former leader stepping dramatically out of the truck cab and wiping clean its enormous glass panes.
“No bulletproof glass will separate my heart from yours,” the beaming former leader says.
