Likud Party Forced to Remove Controversial Arabic Election Posters

The Likud party has been compelled to remove controversial election posters that sparked a public outcry just days before Israel's legislative elections on October 27. The President of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, issued an order on Friday demanding that Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party take down Arabic-language billboards featuring opposition figures.

The posters included images of Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yachad party, alongside Naftali Bennett, Yair Golan, Avigdor Lieberman, and Arab politicians Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi. The Likud's political aim with this campaign was to associate its rivals with the potential formation of a coalition involving Arab parties.

The campaign's distinctive approach involved using visual designs and colors similar to those of the Yachad party, while displaying text in Arabic. The Likud's identity as the campaign's sponsor was not clearly indicated in Hebrew. These billboards were placed in Jerusalem and along major highways in the Tel Aviv area, including in regions where Arabic is not widely spoken.

The Yachad party argued that the campaign was deliberately designed to mislead voters into believing it was an official Yachad initiative, suggesting a political alliance with the other figures depicted. Following a complaint filed by Yachad, the Central Elections Committee sided with the party.

Judge Noam Sohlberg ruled that the posters could mislead voters about political connections between the individuals shown. He also stated that the Arabic text identifying the Likud as the sponsor was insufficient to meet transparency requirements, particularly in areas with a Hebrew-speaking majority.