Naked statue of Netanyahu pops up in Tel Aviv
The statue representing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Gollum from Lords of the Rings is certainly not the first anti-Netanyahu artwork to pop up in Tel Aviv.
Six days before Israel’s March 23 elections, someone placed a statue of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv’s Habima Square. The statue was of a naked, squatting prime minister hiding behind a wall.
This protest display bears a resemblance to the Gollum figure from the iconic "The Lord of the Rings" films and books. Gollum was a monstrous character, split into two different personages. But the Netanyahu figure also hints at another classic situation: “The Emperor has no clothes.”
The statue was removed from the square several hours later by municipal workers, but it managed to create a political and media storm due to the scathing, humiliating way in which Netanyahu was represented.
So far, the artist responsible for the figure has not been identified. Nevertheless, there were those people who knew how to explain what the figure represented.
