Baharav-Miara Opposes Ben Gvir's Participation in Standby Squads Conference

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara opposes the participation of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in a standby squads conference scheduled for Monday, due to concerns that his presence would give the event the character of election propaganda. According to the minister's associates, recent changes to guidelines regarding participation in conferences mean he is forbidden even from attending to deliver greetings. The legal document shows that the decision of whether an event is considered state-related or political is not automatic, but must be based on the totality of its circumstances.

At the center of the issue is the standby squads conference planned for tomorrow, in which Ben Gvir requested to participate. According to the legal position presented, there is a difficulty with the minister's presence due to the fear that the event will be considered election propaganda. The document states that it is difficult to determine in advance a clear boundary between a state event, which can be funded by ministry funds, and activity of a political-party nature.

"It is understood that even in the context under discussion, it is difficult to determine in advance clear boundary lines as to when such an event will be considered a political-party event, constituting propaganda that cannot be legally funded by ministry funds, and when it will be considered a state event, whose funding by the ministry is legitimate," it was written. It was further emphasized: "This will be determined according to the accumulation of circumstances involved in each concrete event."

The document details a long list of considerations that are supposed to assist in determining whether the participation of an elected official in an event during an election period is justified. Among other things, one must examine how close the event is to the election date; whether it was planned in advance or scheduled well before the creation of the cause for elections; whether it is a professional event or one with a political rank; and whether it is held as part of the normal work process of the ministry.

Additional considerations concern the question of whether it is an event held annually, such as an outstanding employee award ceremony, or a periodic event for which there is a special justification to hold it specifically at that time. One must also check the scope of the event, the number of people invited, the level of the venue, the extent of the planned media coverage, and the degree of connection of the event to the work of the ministry. The identity of the speakers is also examined — in particular how many of them are ministers or other politicians who are up for election.

Finally, there is also significance to the content of the remarks that will be made. According to the document, it is required to check to what extent the greetings or speeches deal with content that may influence the voter or create sympathy towards any of the candidates.

In Ben Gvir's environment, they claim that in recent days there has been a change in the guidelines regarding the participation of ministers in conferences during the election period. According to them, the tightening has led to the fact that the minister cannot participate in the standby squads conference and cannot even arrive at it just to greet those present.

According to them, this is a tailoring of guidelines with the goal of harming the minister's activity, when Baharav-Miara brought the new guideline and even emphasized it in the new document: "It is possible that the event itself is legitimate, however the minister's participation in it is not justified under the circumstances of the matter and can in itself amount to propaganda."

The dispute is therefore focused not only on the specific conference, but also on the permitted boundaries for ministers during the election period: when participation in an event related to the work of the ministry is considered part of their role, and at what point it takes on a political character that may be considered propaganda.

From the document, it appears that the very participation of a minister in an event does not necessarily make it a political event. The decision is supposed to be made in accordance with the cumulative circumstances in each case. Therefore, the professional connection to the work of the ministry, the date of the event, the identity of the participants, its character, the content that will be presented, and the possibility that influence on the voting public will be created through it are examined.

In light of the guidelines changed by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Ben Gvir's associates claim that the new guidelines significantly reduce his ability to appear at events related to his ministry's fields. Following media reports, on Saturday night a petition was filed to the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, to prohibit Minister Ben Gvir's participation. Judge Sohlberg is expected to make a decision in the evening hours.