Election Committee Bans Party from Using State Emblem in Campaign Ads

The chairman of the Central Elections Committee for the 26th Knesset, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, has ordered Moshe Feiglin and his party, Zehut, to remove campaign material that used the State of Israel's emblem. The committee also fined Feiglin and his party 5,000 shekels for the violation.

Feiglin, the leader of Zehut, had posted an image on TikTok featuring the state emblem with the caption "Israel, the State of the Jewish People." Accompanying text elaborated on the party's platform, stating they would seek to change the country's name and definition to "Israel, the State of the Jewish People."

An attorney, Yaron Mairi, filed a petition against the advertisement, arguing that using the state emblem violated prohibitions against using public assets for election propaganda. Feiglin and Zehut contended that the emblem was integral to their message of adding "the State of the Jewish People" below the emblem.

Justice Sohlberg accepted the petition, referencing a prior ruling that classified the state emblem, unlike the Israeli flag, as an intangible public asset, thus prohibiting its use in election campaigns. He noted that the emblem appeared in its existing form, with the word "Israel" repeated below it in a different design. Sohlberg questioned the repetition of the word "Israel" in various designs if the intent was merely to present the party's desired emblem. He added that the party could convey its message about changing the state's name and definition through other means without using the official emblem.

The ruling mandates the removal of the current image, but allows Zehut to republish the material without the state emblem. Feiglin and the party were ordered to pay Mairi's legal costs.