Election Committee Orders Netanyahu to Remove Campaign Video
Translated & summarized from i24NEWS by baba
The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove a video from his personal social media accounts. The video, filmed at an Air Force base, was deemed to contain election propaganda. However, the ruling allows the video to remain on official government accounts. The decision followed a petition by an organization arguing the use of public assets for campaign purposes violated election law.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- The Central Elections Committee ordered Prime Minister Netanyahu to remove a video from personal accounts.
- The video, filmed at an Air Force base, was ruled to contain election propaganda.
- The video may remain on official Prime Minister's Office and Prime Minister accounts.
- The ruling followed a petition alleging misuse of public assets for campaign purposes.
- Netanyahu and the Likud party were fined 2,500 shekels for partial violation.
- The video featured Netanyahu discussing security and warning of potential attacks before elections.
The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, ruled Tuesday that a video filmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an Air Force base, in which he warns of an attack on Israel ahead of elections, contains election propaganda elements. Consequently, Netanyahu must remove the video from his personal accounts, but it may remain on the official accounts of the Prime Minister's Office and the Prime Minister.
The video, published last week, was filmed during the Prime Minister's visit to an Air Force base with a military aircraft in the background. In it, Netanyahu discussed security matters and warned of a potential attack scenario on Israel before the elections. He also addressed calls to withdraw from military achievements, stating, "I am not letting that happen, I will not let that happen," and used the first-person plural throughout.
The "Lawyers for Promoting Proper Administration" organization petitioned the committee, arguing that the video's content constituted the use of public assets for election propaganda, violating Section 2a of the Elections Law (Propaganda Methods) of 1959. The petition noted Netanyahu's statement during a visit to Tel Nof Airbase: "There are signs that ahead of the elections our enemies will try to attack us."
Judge Sohlberg determined that the video's content was mixed, containing both election propaganda and a public message to other countries. He differentiated between official and personal accounts, stating that publication on official accounts conveys a state message, while personal accounts convey a candidate's message. He found that after the video was published on official channels, there was no clear official need for its reposting on personal accounts. Since the use of public assets, specifically a military base and an Air Force plane, was undisputed, the publication on private accounts violated Section 2a.
As the petition was only partially accepted, the Prime Minister and the Likud party were ordered to pay the petitioner 2,500 shekels in expenses.
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