Israel Election Chief Orders Netanyahu to Remove Campaign Video from Personal Blogs

The Chairman of the Central Election Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, has ruled that a video filmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an Israeli Air Force base last week constitutes election campaigning and must be removed from his personal social media accounts. However, Sohlberg permitted the video to remain on the official pages of the Prime Minister's Office.

Sohlberg's decision noted the video's mixed content, acknowledging that while Netanyahu discussed security matters and addressed other nations, he also used language that could be interpreted as electioneering. The location of the publication was also a significant factor, with Sohlberg stating that posts on official government accounts can be seen as state communications, whereas personal accounts are perceived as candidate appeals.

The ruling stems from the video's creation using state resources, filmed on an IDF base with an Air Force plane in the background. Sohlberg determined that publishing it on Netanyahu's personal accounts violated Article 2a of the election law, which prohibits the use of state assets for campaign purposes.

A petition filed by a lawyers' association had argued that Netanyahu misused state infrastructure for campaign propaganda. As the petition was only partially granted, Netanyahu and the Likud party were ordered to pay the petitioner 2,500 shekels in legal costs.