President Reuven Rivlin announced Sunday that a new public commission will be formed to introduce a comprehensive reform to Israel's campaigning laws. The commission will be headed by retired Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch. In his review of the 2015 election campaign, Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Salim Joubran noted that many articles in the Election Law, and the subsequent bylaws derived from them, were grossly outdated, rendering the legislation in need of an urgent reform. "The election campaign for the 20th Knesset was held in accordance with Election Law (Propaganda Means) 5719-1959, which sets various limitations on campaigning and electioneering. As evident by the law's name, many of the prohibitions outlined in it have become obsolete, and even archaic," Joubran wrote. "The law still includes such prohibitions as a ban on carrying torches while holding parades ... but it makes no mention of what has become the most popular medium of campaigning today -- the Internet." Joubran noted that previous Central Elections Committee heads have urged lawmakers to amend the law but to no avail, saying that "no serious reform was undertaken and only specific articles were amended. This very important law has remained, for the most part, unchanged since it was legislated 56 years ago. ... I believe that if the president were to endorse this reform, it would stand a greater chance of coming to fruition," he said. He further stressed the campaigning reform commission "should include retired politicians, jurists, media professionals, and senior officials from the Central Elections Committee."
