News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Former High Court head Eliezer Goldberg, who heads the National Election Commission, set some new rules for heads of local authorities seeking re-election in Israel's upcoming local elections in November: In order not to give the incumbents in elections an extra name-recognition boost, the mayor of local authorities must remove their names from signs welcoming visitors into town, or wishing them a bon voyage – both common in many Israeli towns. Not only that – the mayors cannot attach their names to the masthead of communications sent out to residents informing them of municipal information, for the same reason. The rules are in force during “election season,” six months to a year before elections.

Goldberg made the decision after a petition filed by a challenger to the mayor of the Beit Aryeh – Ofarim local council, who claimed that the current mayor was using e-mail addresses collected by the town for information purposes to spam residents with election ads.