Central Election Committee Chairman Justice Noam Solberg ruled Friday that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir must remove from all his social media accounts a 38-second video filmed during a visit to a detention facility at Ashdod Port, and pay legal costs after accepting a petition by the Movement for Quality Government. Ben Gvir was ordered to pay NIS 8,000, while the National Security Ministry and the Israel Prison Service were ordered to pay another NIS 15,000, for a total of NIS 23,000.
Solberg said the clip amounted to election propaganda using public assets, in violation of Section 2A of the Elections (Methods of Propaganda) Law, 1959. Applying the “dominant purpose” test, he found that filming inside an IPS facility, with uniformed IPS personnel present, and publishing the video on the minister’s personal accounts pointed to a clear campaign purpose.
The video showed Ben Gvir touring the Ashdod detention site among handcuffed activists from the Sumud flotilla and waving an Israeli flag. Solberg said the legal review addressed only the narrow election-law issues and not the broad public and international attention the video drew. He also said the clip was full of propagandistic elements because the minister used it to present his achievements and political positions.
The petition followed a demand sent by the movement last month asking for the video’s immediate removal within four days. After Ben Gvir refused, the group appealed to the committee. Solberg noted the petition was filed on June 2, 2026, almost two weeks after the video was published, which prevented an interim removal order at the time. Still, he stressed that the video’s wide circulation in Israel and abroad did not excuse enforcement, since the committee’s authority is reactive and does not depend on how widely a violation spreads. The movement said this was part of a recurring pattern, and Solberg cited his own March precedent on Ben Gvir, which found that use of IPS facilities and uniformed staff in videos is an unlawful use of public property. Attorney Tomer Naor said the ruling makes clear that using state assets for political campaigning has a price.
