Gadi Eizenkot's Yisrael! Party Rejects Likud's Demand to Remove Campaign Video

Gadi Eizenkot's party, Yisrael!, has firmly rejected the Likud party's demand to remove a campaign jingle video, asserting that the video complies with election law and does not warrant removal. The party, through lawyers Uri Haberman and Adi Marinberg, stated on Tuesday that Likud's attempt to use labeling issues as grounds for removal is an effort to suppress legitimate political criticism, which is central to political freedom of expression.

Yisrael! clarified that the video consists entirely of authentic footage and materials, with no artificially created characters, locations, or events, nor any fabricated statements or voiceovers attributed to Likud members. The AI-generated jingle accompanying the video was clearly disclosed, but the video content itself is based on real events, including terrorism, disasters during Netanyahu's government, protests against military conscription, and corruption allegations against Likud members.

The party criticized Likud for focusing on attacking Eizenkot, the leading candidate to replace the prime minister, rather than addressing its own failures and responsibilities. Yisrael! highlighted that five ministers on Likud's candidate list served in the cabinet on October 7 and opposed the ground operation in Gaza, with only two women placed in the top twenty candidates. The party accused Likud of diverting attention from Israel's security challenges to undermine political opposition.

The video was clearly identified as produced by Yisrael! and included explicit disclaimers about its origin, making confusion about its source impossible. The content openly criticizes Likud, calling it "a disaster" and accusing it of abandoning its values and voters. Yisrael! emphasized that the dispute should be about political realities, not labeling, and that the video does not impersonate any public channel or use fake footage. They concluded by rejecting Likud's removal demand and committing to continue presenting the political reality to the public.