Central Elections Committee (CEC) chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg on Thursday ordered National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit to remove from their social-media accounts a video filmed during Ben-Gvir’s visit to convicted Hamas terrorist Hassan Salameh, ruling that it constituted election propaganda produced using public resources.
Sohlberg also ordered Ben-Gvir and his party to pay NIS 20,000 in legal costs to the two organizations that petitioned against the video.
The costs are to be divided equally: Ben-Gvir must pay NIS 10,000 personally, and Otzma Yehudit must pay the remaining NIS 10,000.
The decision rejected the argument that the video was intended to deter terrorists rather than influence voters.
Ben-Gvir told terrorist: 'I want to kill you, I want to put you to death'
Ben-Gvir published the video on September 27, one month before the October 27 election. He said it had been recorded during a prison visit some two weeks earlier.
With armed and uniformed Israel Prison Service (IPS) guards standing between him and Salameh, Ben-Gvir told the prisoner: “I want to kill you. I want to put you to death.”
He also said that he was responsible for making Salameh’s life in prison “hell.”
In the caption accompanying the video, Ben-Gvir praised his record as national security minister and described policies he intended to pursue after the election.
He wrote that as defense minister, he would work to have terrorists such as Salameh executed and advance the emigration of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.
Two organizations alleged Ben-Gvir video was election propaganda
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and the nonprofit Voting for Israel filed separate petitions arguing that the video constituted election propaganda produced through the prohibited use of public assets.
Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit did not dispute that the prison, IPS personnel, and their equipment were public resources. They argued, however, that the video’s purpose was deterrence rather than campaigning.
Section 2A of the Election Propaganda Law prohibits the use of public money or assets in connection with election propaganda.
A publication is classified as election propaganda when its dominant purpose is to influence voters, and no alternative purpose outweighs that electoral objective.
Sohlberg acknowledged that the video could carry a deterrent message but found that this was not its dominant purpose.
Ben-Gvir took personal credit for Salameh’s prison conditions, presented himself as the person responsible for deterring terrorists, and described policies he intended to pursue in the future, Sohlberg wrote.
According to the decision, the accompanying caption confirmed the electoral character of the publication by combining praise for Ben-Gvir’s conduct in office with plans for what he would do after the election.
Sohlberg also cited the video’s publication on Ben-Gvir’s personal political accounts, its proximity to the election, and the minister’s ability to control the timing of his prison visit.
In explaining the personal costs imposed on Ben-Gvir, Sohlberg said the minister had used his authority over the IPS to visit a particular prisoner in his cell, obtain the presence of uniformed armed guards, and display them in a campaign video.
“Other candidates – apparently even other ministers – do not enjoy such access to the Prison Service, prisoners and guards,” Sohlberg wrote. “Minister Ben-Gvir enjoyed an advantage in access to these public assets – and exploited it to the fullest.”
Sohlberg also noted that the publication resembled other Ben-Gvir videos previously found to have violated the same prohibition on using public resources for election propaganda.
Ben-Gvir says CEC decision 'extremely puzzling'
Ben-Gvir called the decision “extremely puzzling” and said terrorists in prison should be treated harshly.
“The publication of the video, like other videos I have published, has proven to deter terrorists planning to carry out attacks in the future,” he said.
“I regret Justice Sohlberg’s decision,” Ben-Gvir added. “This is not how terrorism is fought.”
Salameh is serving 46 consecutive life sentences for directing three suicide bombings in 1996, including the two attacks on Jerusalem’s No. 18 bus.
The death penalty law enacted earlier this year does not apply retroactively and therefore cannot be applied to Salameh’s 1996 offenses.
Under Sohlberg’s order, Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit must remove the video immediately from all their social-media accounts and pay the petitioners’ costs.