Netanyahu holiday video draws X criticism

Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video message to Iranians on March 16 marking Nowruz, the Persian new year, and the clip drew criticism on X over how the Israeli leader framed Iran, history and freedom. In the video, published on the Israeli prime minister’s official channels, Netanyahu addressed “the brave people of Iran” and said he wished them “a happy holiday season, beginning with the Festival of Lights.” Reuters, via The Hindu, reported the message on March 17, and the video remained online on the IsraeliPM YouTube channel. The backlash tracked a familiar pattern in online debate around Israeli messaging to foreign publics. X users described the clip as “hasbara,” a Hebrew term commonly used for public diplomacy or advocacy on Israel’s behalf, and some critics challenged Netanyahu’s invocation of long historical ties between Jews and Persians. The social-media dispute then widened into arguments about diaspora identity, travel disruption and cultural events, according to posts circulated on May 20. (thehindu.com) ### What exactly did Netanyahu say in the video? Netanyahu said in the video: “To the brave people of Iran, I wish you, as I do every year, a happy holiday season, beginning with the Festival of Lights.” He added that the holiday signified “the age-old belief of the Iranian people that light will triumph over darkness, that good will triumph over evil.” (x.com) The video also included a more overt political line. Netanyahu said, “I take this opportunity to wish you a happy Nowruz - a year of freedom. A new beginning of hope to all of you, my dear friends,” according to the official upload and Reuters’ account of the message. The remarks were delivered in English with Farsi subtitles. (thehindu.com) ### Why did the message spread beyond a routine holiday greeting? March 16 came during a period when Netanyahu had already been issuing direct public messages aimed at Iranians rather than only at Iran’s government. Reuters reported that in recent years he had repeatedly recorded video messages addressed to the Iranian people, particularly opponents of the Islamic Republic’s clerical leadership. (thehindu.com) March 17 also brought a second wartime message tied to the same holiday period. An Israeli government page carried Netanyahu’s remarks from an air force command center saying Israeli operations were meant to enable “the brave people of Iran to celebrate the Festival of Fire,” adding, “So celebrate and Happy Nowruz. We’re watching from above.” That broader context helped turn the holiday greeting into a political flashpoint online. (thehindu.com) ### What were critics on X objecting to? May 20 posts on X framed the video as propaganda and questioned the legitimacy of Netanyahu speaking as an emissary of freedom to Iranians while Israel remained at war. Some users also linked the clip to wider grievances about how official Israeli messaging lands with diaspora audiences, especially in cultural and travel contexts. (gov.il) The criticism was not limited to the wording of one sentence. Online responses folded the video into longer-running disputes over indigeneity, historical claims and whether outreach to the Iranian public can be separated from Israeli military action. Those arguments were visible in reposts, quote-posts and cross-platform discussion on May 20. (x.com) ### Was Netanyahu the only Israeli leader making a Nowruz appeal? President Isaac Herzog issued his own Nowruz message on March 20, extending the outreach beyond Netanyahu. Herzog said from the President’s Residence in Jerusalem that “the ties between the Persian and Jewish people stretch long and far across geography and time” and told Iranians, “You deserve a different future.” (x.com) Herzog’s statement gave the Israeli government’s outreach a second official voice and kept the holiday messaging in circulation after Netanyahu’s video. The president’s office published the statement on March 20, four days after Netanyahu’s video message first appeared. (gov.il)