After petition by rights association: Police may not circumvent legal safeguards when investigating due to posts
The Supreme Court ruled on a petition by the Association for Civil Rights, affirming that the police are obligated to protect freedom of expression and cannot bypass legal safeguards when investigating due to social media posts, and ordered the state to pay 10,000 shekels to the association.
The Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling on Tuesday on a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights against investigations and arrests based on social media posts, which particularly affected Arab citizens since the start of the war. The state responded to the petition by clarifying that the police are bound by instructions that protect freedom of expression and may not circumvent them by classifying posts under other criminal offenses. The Supreme Court welcomed this clarification, emphasizing that the content of the post determines whether approval is required, not the legal classification chosen by the police. It also noted that the police have tightened their internal instructions and learned lessons from past cases, and ordered the state to pay 10,000 shekels to the association for legal costs. The petition was filed in April 2025.