Shas invokes IDF soldiers in election campaign ad, drawing Gadi Eisenkot's ire

The Shas party has released an election campaign advertisement that features footage of IDF soldiers, a move that has triggered a wave of criticism and formal demands for the content's removal. According to reporting from i24NEWS, the Yashar Party has officially demanded that Shas remove the video, asserting that the political party is improperly using the image of IDF soldiers for electoral gain. The controversy has expanded beyond party disputes, as Israel National News reports that Naftali Bennett has been ordered to remove footage of IDF soldiers from a video following a petition filed by Likud. Coverage from The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel emphasizes the high-level political friction resulting from these ads, specifically highlighting the ire of Gadi Eisenkot. The Times of Israel reports that Eisenkot has gone so far as to threaten to siphon traditional voters away from Shas, a party the outlet describes as currently panicking.

This indicates a significant rift between the party's campaign strategy and established military or political figures who view the utilization of active-duty personnel in political messaging as inappropriate or problematic. To understand the stakes of this conflict, coverage from Ynetnews provides specific data regarding the Shas party's voter base. Aryeh Deri has claimed that in the previous elections, the Shas party received 31,000 votes from soldiers. This figure explains why the party would choose to invoke the military in its campaign materials, as it seeks to maintain or grow its support among the soldier demographic. The tension arises from the intersection of party interests and the neutrality of the Israel Defense Forces during an election cycle.

Future developments to watch include the legal and administrative outcomes of the petitions filed by Likud and the demands made by the Yashar Party. It remains to be seen if Shas will comply with the calls to remove the imagery or if the conflict with Gadi Eisenkot will escalate into further efforts to divert the party's traditional voter base. The outcome of these disputes will likely determine how IDF imagery can be legally and ethically employed in upcoming campaign materials across various political factions.