Did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorse Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Michigan, and call her "a true friend of Israel"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Netanyahu made such an endorsement or statement, and Stevens' campaign called the claim "false." No credible news outlets have reported that Netanyahu endorsed her or made the statement.
The claim appeared in a post and image (archived here) by the @iElijahManley account on X on July 23, 2026. The fake endorsement read:
'Haley Stevens is a strong leader, a dedicated public servant, and a true friend of Israel.'
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
Prime Minister of Israel
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @iElijahManley on X.)
News searches
Lead Stories searched Google News (archived here) and Yahoo News (archived here) and did not find any matching reports from credible news outlets using the search terms: "Benjamin Netanyahu" and "Haley Stevens is a strong leader, a dedicated public servant, and a true friend of Israel." No credible news outlets published the endorsement image or reported the claim as fact.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its affiliated groups have spent nearly $30 million (archived here) to help Stevens and defeat her Democratic primary opponent, Abdul El-Sayed. It is the largest investment AIPAC has ever made in a single election.
Stevens campaign
The Stevens campaign responded to the purported endorsement claim involving Netanyahu. In a July 24, 2026, email to Lead Stories, the campaign said:
This is false. In fact, Prime Minister Netanyahu criticized Haley recently.
The campaign cited a July 7, 2026, CNN interview (archived here) with the Israeli leader. This is what was said:
CNN's Dana Bash: Congresswoman Haley Stevens -- she's running for Senate in Michigan -- said, 'Benjamin Netanyahu has made us less safe. He has frankly put Jews in an uncomfortable position across the country.' Have you?
Netanyahu: Well, it's made her uncomfortable, because she can't stand up for the truth. She's trying to probably excuse antisemitism.
The interview is embedded below:
