Israeli Parties Hire U.S. Consultants for Election Win

TEL AVIV—As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu campaigns to set himself apart from his challengers in elections Tuesday, the major Israeli political parties have at least one thing in common: Nearly all of them, including Mr. Netanyahu’s, have hired American consultants.

This isn’t the first time. In 1999, James Carville and Stanley Greenberg, who had worked on President Bill Clinton’s campaigns, helped Ehud Barak defeat Mr. Netanyahu’s bid for re-election.

This time it is Jeremy Bird, a former consultant to President Barack Obama, who has Mr. Netanyahu worried. Mr. Bird is working with V15, an independent Israeli organization that doesn’t support specific candidates but urges voters to replace the current government.

Mr. Netanyahu, facing possible defeat, says foreigners are spending millions of dollars to oust him. “Foreign consultants are here in droves, and the money is flowing here,” he told the Jerusalem Post last week.

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