Israeli attorney general may ban pictures of troops in campaign materials

Israel’s Labor Party complained about politicians corralling soldiers into their campaign materials.

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JERUSALEM (JTA)- Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit may prohibit the use of images of troops on billboards following a complaint by the Labor Party to the Central Elections Committee.

According to a report in Ynet, Labor complained about politicians’ practice of using the images of soldiers on social media, citing a law that “election propaganda will not be used in the IDF as to create the impression that the army is affiliated with a party or a list of candidates.”

The run-ups to elections generally see an increase of visits to army bases by candidates who then post the images on social media. According to Ynet, Mandelblit is considering not only banning the use of such imagery on billboards but also on the personal social media accounts of politicians.

Former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz has been leaning heavily on his military record in his Knesset run, using footage of destroyed buildings in Gaza and military-style typefaces in his campaign material.

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