National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has once again promoted a private business through his official party channels, despite Knesset ethics rules barring lawmakers from doing so, according to a report by Srugim. A video posted to the official accounts of Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party shows the minister and his wife, Ayala, at a wig salon owned by Ayala Elharar, the wife of Ben Gvir's own media adviser.
The video drew questions online, both over the choice of setting and over why the party's official accounts would be used to promote the private business of the minister's own communications adviser.
This is not the first time Ben Gvir has run into this issue. Roughly two months ago, the Knesset Ethics Committee upheld a complaint against him for the same violation, after he used his official accounts to promote a Luna Park amusement park. In its ruling at the time, the committee stated that Knesset members are barred from endorsing, assisting or promoting commercial entities, and found that a video showing the minister spending time with his children at the amusement park, posted both to his party account and to the park's own account, amounted to improper promotion of a commercial business. The committee cited both the minister's active involvement in the video and the fact that it had been directed by a representative of the amusement park and branded commercially. Ben Gvir was found to have violated ethics rules and was issued a formal reprimand as a sanction.
Given that prior ruling, observers say the Ethics Committee is likely to respond more severely this time, since Ben Gvir can no longer claim he was unaware the conduct was prohibited.
Ben Gvir's social media accounts have separately run afoul of election propaganda laws on a recurring basis. The Central Elections Committee has already fined him tens of thousands of shekels and disqualified several of his videos, after he used Israel's security forces, including police and prison service personnel, as backdrops for campaign style content, and made use of security facilities, both of which are barred under Israeli propaganda law.
