Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Ordered to Remove Campaign Video from Prison

The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, has ordered National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to immediately remove a video from his social media accounts. The video, filmed inside a prison cell, showed Ben-Gvir confronting a terrorist named Hassan Salameh. The court also ordered Ben-Gvir and his party, Otzma Yehudit, to pay 20,000 shekels in legal costs, half of which will come from Ben-Gvir's personal funds.

The ruling came after Ben-Gvir posted the video earlier this week. In it, the minister is seen accompanied by armed prison guards and addresses the inmate, saying, "Today I am closing a circle... These are the conditions I put you in. But this is not the end. I want to kill you. I want to execute you... Here I am responsible for hell." Ben-Gvir also wrote on social media that as National Security Minister, he had made the terrorist's life hell and vowed to work towards the execution of "murderous terrorists" and promote an "immigration policy from Gaza and Judea and Samaria."

The petitioners, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and the "Bochrim BeYisrael" organization, argued that the video constituted prohibited election propaganda and illegal use of public resources, violating election law. Ben-Gvir and his party admitted to using prison facilities and guards but claimed the video's purpose was deterrence, not propaganda.

Judge Sohlberg rejected their defense, ruling that the video's dominant purpose was election propaganda. He noted that the minister boasted about his actions, presented a political platform for upcoming elections, and conveyed a personal message of deterrence. The judge also highlighted the timing of the publication, about a month before the elections, and its appearance on Ben-Gvir's personal and political channels.

In explaining the personal costs imposed on Ben-Gvir, the judge emphasized the severity of the violation, stating that the minister had abused his authority and the subservience of the Prison Service to him. Sohlberg pointed out that Ben-Gvir exploited his position to create an election propaganda video, gaining access to armed guards and presenting them throughout the footage, an advantage likely unavailable to other candidates or even ministers.