Election Official Orders Minister Ben-Gvir to Remove Campaign Video

Noam Sohlberg, Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, has ordered National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to remove a video posted earlier this week. The video showed Ben-Gvir confronting terrorist prisoner Hassan Salameh during a visit to a prison, with prison guards appearing in the footage. Sohlberg ruled that the video constituted election propaganda, violating a law that prohibits the use of public resources for campaign purposes.

Ben-Gvir had argued that the video was intended as a deterrent message to terrorists, not electioneering, though he acknowledged the use of public resources. Sohlberg, after reviewing the video's content, accompanying text, and other data, determined that the minister's boasting about his actions, discussion of future political plans, and personal message of deterrence were primarily for election purposes. "The main purpose of the video is election propaganda, not deterrence," Sohlberg stated, ordering its removal from all social media accounts.

In addition to removing the video, Ben-Gvir was personally ordered to pay 20,000 shekels in expenses from his own pocket, with his party also contributing to the sum. This decision followed petitions filed by the Public Committee Against Torture and the "Votim BeYisrael" (Voters in Israel) organization, which argued the video violated election laws. Sohlberg cited the "complete exploitation of the minister's advantage in accessing public resources within the prison" as a factor in imposing the personal financial penalty.