A report recently submitted to to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara by the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights points to potential dangers to freedom of expression and freedom of protest in Israel’s approaching election campaign.

The report called for the urgent formulation of new restrictions on the Israel Police, which is controlled by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, that would prevent it from carrying out actions that could undermine the integrity, fairness, and freedom of the elections.

The report, written by Zulat CEO Einat Ovadia and attorney Itay Mack, alleges a recurring pattern of “improper operational intervention by National Security Minister Ben Gvir over the past three and a half years in enforcement and the use of force in cases involving demonstrations and incitement offenses.”

The report’s authors argue that during a short and focused election period — whether triggered early or held at the statutory end of the government’s term — those potentially harmed by instances of police overreach will find it difficult to petition the courts for relief.

Therefore, “the existing guidelines in case law, as well as those of the attorney general and the state attorney, are not sufficient, and in light of the approaching election period, there is an essential and urgent need to establish a special directive that will strengthen protections for freedoms of expression and protest, and anchor mechanisms for legal oversight and supervision of police conduct,” the report said.

In calling for active measures by Baharav-Miara, the report cited examples from recent years in which Ben Gvir and the police “exploited the fragile legal patchwork and the state of war, and tried to restrict and even completely prevent political rivals and citizens who oppose their policies, and especially the Arab minority, from exercising their freedoms of expression and protest.”

Baharav-Miara is already at loggerheads with Ben Gvir and has been demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fire the far-right minister over his repeated alleged violations of his commitment that he would not meddle politically in police work.

Among the cases detailed by the Zulat Institute — a liberal think tank founded by former Meretz party leader Zehava Galon — are examples Baharav-Miara cited in her response to........

© The Times of Israel