Israel Election Body Orders Likud to Remove Arabic Posters

Israel's Central Election Committee has ordered the Likud party to remove billboards featuring Arabic text and images of politicians like Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Golan, Naftali Bennett, and Avigdor Lieberman alongside Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi. The committee's chairman, Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Solberg, ruled on Friday, October 23, that Likud must publish a Hebrew clarification within two hours of the Sabbath's end, identifying itself as the campaign's organizer. The decision stemmed from Likud's use of a color scheme associated with Eisenkot's party, which Solberg deemed likely to mislead voters. Likud is also required to dismantle the existing billboards as soon as possible, using its own resources if necessary. Solberg stated that the posters' content and design could create a false impression of political alliances between the "Yashar" party and other lists, with whom the party claims no such ties exist. The billboards were erected in various locations across the country, including along Ayalon Highway near Gush Dan and in areas where Arabic is not widely spoken. Solberg further mandated that Likud inform the public via media that the billboards were published by Likud, not by the "Yashar" party or any other represented list. The ruling also indicated that Likud might face further orders compelling authorities to remove the signs. This incident echoes a 2013 case where the Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu list successfully petitioned the election committee to remove posters of Naftali Bennett alongside then-Prime Minister Netanyahu, arguing they created a misleading impression of a joint political venture.