Yisrael With Eisenkot Demands Shas Remove Election Ad Featuring IDF Soldiers

The Yisrael With Eisenkot party sent a legal warning on Sunday to Shas leader Aryeh Deri and the Shas party, demanding the removal of an election campaign video posted on Deri's X account titled "A Father's Life." The party, through attorney Uri Haberman, requested the video be taken down by 11:00 AM, arguing it violates election law due to the use of IDF soldiers and the Shas ballot in the footage. Yisrael With Eisenkot emphasized this is an initial warning before further legal steps.

The letter claims that featuring soldiers alongside political messages creates the false impression that the IDF endorses Shas. The video states that over 30,000 soldiers and reservists voted for Shas in the last election, citing official data. Yisrael With Eisenkot linked the use of soldiers in the video to Shas's policies during the recent war, accusing the party of promoting draft evasion and prioritizing those who did not serve, while active soldiers bear the burden. They also referenced Deri's statement expressing pride in family members who did not serve.

The party condemned what they called hypocrisy: "You cannot promote draft evasion at the expense of those serving, boast about non-serving relatives, and then use IDF soldiers as a backdrop for election propaganda," they said. Another issue raised concerns the appearance of the Shas ballot letters in the video, which Yisrael With Eisenkot says violates Section 7 of the Election Campaign Law prohibiting use of party letters more than 42 days before elections.

Yisrael With Eisenkot set a firm deadline for removing the video and warned that failure to comply could lead to further action. This demand is currently a party warning and not a ruling by the Central Elections Committee.