Judge Orders Smotrich to Remove Election Video Featuring Children from Social Media

On Thursday, Noam Solberg, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, issued a temporary injunction ordering Minister Bezalel Smotrich and his party to remove an election campaign video from their social media accounts. The video, published the previous evening, showed two young girls discussing how one girl's father had not been called for reserve duty in a year, attributing this to Smotrich. The NGO Vochrim B'Israel petitioned against the video, arguing it violated the prohibition on involving children under 15 in election propaganda. They requested a temporary order to remove the video pending the petition's outcome. Judge Solberg granted the injunction and instructed Smotrich and his party to respond to the petition by Sunday, August 23, 2026. According to Section 2g of the 1959 Elections Law, it is forbidden to use children under 15 in election propaganda, except when the child appears in routine activities captured in photos or recordings.