Israeli Election Official Orders PM Netanyahu to Remove Campaign Video

The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, has ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove a video from his personal social media accounts, ruling that it contains elements of "election propaganda." The video, filmed by Netanyahu at an Israeli Air Force base about a week ago, features the Prime Minister discussing security matters and Israel's military achievements, stating, "I am not letting this happen, I will not let this happen" in response to calls to abandon these achievements. Sohlberg noted Netanyahu's use of the plural "we" throughout the video.

However, Sohlberg permitted the continued publication of the video on the official accounts of the Prime Minister's Office and Netanyahu himself. He distinguished between official and personal accounts, stating that while the official accounts convey a state message, personal accounts present a candidate's message. Sohlberg found no clear official need for the video's publication on personal accounts, deeming it a violation of the Elections Law regarding propaganda methods, particularly due to the use of public assets like an army base and an Air Force plane.

This ruling follows a similar decision just two days prior, where Sohlberg ordered Netanyahu to remove additional content from his accounts and imposed tens of thousands of shekels in legal costs. In the current case, the petition against the video was filed by the "Attorneys for Promoting Proper Administration" association. While the petition was only partially accepted, Netanyahu and the Likud party were ordered to pay 2,500 shekels in legal costs to the petitioner.