Supreme Court Orders Removal of Ben Gvir Campaign Video and Awards Costs

Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg accepted a petition against National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over a video he posted on May 20 showing the handling of participants in the flotilla. The court ordered the clip removed immediately and said Ben Gvir must pay 23,000 shekels in legal costs.

The Movement for Quality Government argued that the video amounted to prohibited election propaganda and used public assets, in violation of Section 2A of the Elections (Modes of Propaganda) Law. The National Security Ministry, the Israel Prison Service and the attorney general backed the petition, while Ben Gvir did not submit a response.

In his ruling, Sohlberg wrote that the video was “full of propaganda elements” because it presented the minister’s achievements and political positions. He also found improper use of public property, noting that the video showed police officers and prison service personnel in uniform, as well as a public facility used to detain the flotilla participants. He stressed that the case was decided solely under election-propaganda law, regardless of the public and international attention the clip drew.

Sohlberg said the petition was filed on June 2, nearly two weeks after the video was published, so an interim removal order could not be issued at the time. Even so, he said the wide dissemination of the video in Israel and abroad did not prevent enforcement after the fact. He added that this was not Ben Gvir’s first breach of Section 2A, and imposed costs of 8,000 shekels to the Movement for Quality Government and 15,000 shekels to the National Security Ministry, the attorney general and the Israel Prison Service, for a total of 23,000 shekels.