Israeli Minister Ordered to Remove Prison Propaganda Video

The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, has ordered National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his party, Otzma Yehudit, to immediately remove a propaganda video filmed inside a prison and posted on social media. Sohlberg ruled that the video constituted election propaganda and involved the prohibited use of public assets. Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit were also ordered to pay NIS 20,000 in expenses.

The committee's decision came after petitions were filed alleging that Ben-Gvir had improperly used public resources and exploited his position as Minister of National Security for campaign purposes. The committee noted this was not the first time Ben-Gvir had been required to remove videos using prison staff, uniforms, and public resources.

The video in question, published on September 27, about a month before the elections, shows Ben-Gvir in the cell of terrorist Hassan Salameh, convicted of involvement in deadly attacks. Prison guards are also visible in the footage. Ben-Gvir is heard telling Salameh, "When I was a child, I went and demonstrated that people like you need to be dealt with. Today I am closing a circle." Alongside the video, Ben-Gvir posted text discussing his actions as minister and post-election plans, including promoting the death penalty for terrorists and immigration policies from Gaza and the West Bank.

Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit admitted to using public assets in the video, specifically "the prison, prison service employees and their equipment," but claimed its purpose was to deter terrorists, not for election propaganda. Sohlberg rejected this, stating that while a deterrence message could be identified, the content and accompanying text clearly indicated its dominant purpose was election propaganda. He highlighted that Ben-Gvir boasted about his ministerial actions and presented future political plans.

Sohlberg further criticized Ben-Gvir's use of his ministerial authority over the Prison Service to gain access to the prison, armed guards, and equipment, an advantage unavailable to other candidates or likely even other ministers. He noted the similarity to previous Ben-Gvir videos found to have violated the prohibition on using public assets for propaganda. The petitions were filed by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and the "Otzmim B'Yisrael" (We Vote in Israel) organization.