JERUSALEM (JTA) — A golden statue of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared overnight in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square startling citizens and city officials.

The municipality placed a notice on the statue on Tuesday morning, warning that it would remove the piece and charge the artist unless he removed it within four hours.

Israeli sculptor Itay Zalait placed the sculpture mounted on a while platform there as a political statement and had called on the public to “topple” it. He has said it is the first in a series of political-artistic acts that he is planning.

The appearance of the five-foot-tall statue led news reports on Tuesday morning and created lively debate on Facebook. Some referred to it as a “golden calf,” many stopped to take selfies with it.

“Many people in Israel refer to Benjamin Netanyahu as ‘The King Bibi’ so it was only natural to put the King on the square of the Kings, the previous name of Rabin Square,” the artist told The Associated Press. “I just want to ask the question like to see if it’s going to make some change in the people’s mind.”

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