Central Elections Committee orders Ben Gvir to take down flotilla abuse video

The head of the Central Elections Committee (CEC) ruled on Friday that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir must delete a highly contentious video of him tormenting activists detained aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla that he uploaded to social media last month.

Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg, the chair of the CEC, also ordered the far-right minister to pay NIS 23,000 ($7,800) to cover the legal fees associated with the petition, which was filed by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel.

Sohlberg determined that the video, which included uniformed security officers and was taken inside a state facility, constituted unlawful election propaganda with the use of public assets.

Ben Gvir posted the video himself on X with the caption “this is how we welcome terror supporters,” showing him watching with glee as hundreds of foreign activists who had been intercepted on boats bound for Gaza were bound and forced to kneel on the ground.

The treatment of the detainees appeared akin to security forces’ handling of the most severe terrorists in the prisons overseen by Ben Gvir’s office, which has also prompted allegations of abuse. With dozens of bound activists kneeling on the ground, Ben Gvir is seen waving a large Israeli flag and shouting in Hebrew, “Welcome to Israel! We are in charge here!” He also blasts “Hatikva,” Israel’s national anthem, over a loudspeaker, and shouts “Am Yisrael Chai” (the nation of Israel lives) at a bound detainee trying to argue with him.

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Ben Gvir is also heard urging guards at the facility “not [to] be bothered by their screams,” as a woman can be heard crying out in the background.

The clip drew sharp condemnation from both a wide array of foreign leaders as well as from across the Israeli political spectrum, including by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

In a statement issued at the time, Netanyahu said that “the way that Minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms,” while Sa’ar slammed him publicly for having “knowingly caused harm to our state.”

Within hours of the CEC ruling on Friday, Ben Gvir had removed the video from his X account, although the minister had not issued any public response to the ruling as of press time.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, Israel Prisons Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi — who is considered a close ally of Ben Gvir — gave the go-ahead for the minister to tour the facility where the activists were held, as well as them being restrained, forced to kneel on the ground and having him parade around with an Israeli flag and blasting Hebrew music.

But the laws in Israel explicitly prohibit the use of any uniformed Israeli officers, including IDF soldiers, police officers and Israel Prisons Service personnel, in any election campaign videos.

Already in March, Ben Gvir was warned by the CEC for videos he had posted of himself aboard a police boat and touring prison facilities and ordered to remove those from his social media accounts, which he appears to have also done. Sohlberg, however, noted at the time that he was aware that ordering the removal of such videos a month after they have been published will have little ultimate effect on their impact.