Gadi Eisenkot Threatens Legal Action Over AI-Generated Smotrich Campaign Video

The intense Israeli election campaign has led to a surge in legal battles, with political disputes increasingly moving from the digital sphere to courtrooms. Parties and politicians are flooding the judicial system with urgent requests, including injunctions against campaign ads, election law violations, incitement claims, and internal disputes.

A notable case involves a legal warning sent by Gadi Eisenkot's "Yash" party to Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the Religious Zionism party. Eisenkot's party, represented by attorney Uri Heberman, issued a stern letter demanding the removal of an AI-generated propaganda video posted on Smotrich's X account. The video, which Eisenkot himself did not appear in, depicted Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit, Justice Daphne Barak-Erez, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara allegedly participating in a political protest against Smotrich, being forcibly removed by police.

The video was released as part of a joint initiative by Smotrich and MK Simcha Rothman to promote a new judicial reform. "Yash" contends that the video constitutes a serious criminal offense of contempt of court, punishable by up to three years imprisonment. They argue it involves the illicit and dangerous use of the images and official status of senior judicial figures for election propaganda.

Eisenkot's party emphasized that this is not legitimate criticism but dangerous incitement, inciting violence, and creating a false reality that attributes criminal behavior to law enforcement leaders. The letter explicitly demanded that Smotrich remove the video from all his platforms by 3:00 PM on the day of the article's publication, stating, "Smotrich once again proves that there is no red line he will not cross and no state institution he will not trample for another vote at the ballot box."