MK Tamar Zandberg submitted a complaint after Regev posted a video in which she praised the singing competition show and encouraged people to watch it.
By LAHAV HARKOV
Culture Minister Miri Regev behaved inappropriately by promoting Eyal Golan is Calling You, the Mizrahi-pop singer’s reality TV show, on her Facebook page, the Knesset Ethics Committee said Tuesday.MK Tamar Zandberg submitted a complaint after Regev posted a video in which she praised the singing competition show and encouraged people to watch it.Zandberg asked the committee to clarify what kind of commercial activities MKs may participate in.Regev responded that she made the video as part of her policy to encourage Mizrahi music and not for any financial reason.“According to [Zandberg’s] logic, MKs can’t participate in any TV show, which would reduce the media exposure of their actions to a minimum,” Regev argued.The committee responded that lawmakers may encourage cultural activities and may appear on television.However, “in this case the line was crossed between expressing a stance... and inappropriate PR, they wrote. “The character of the video serves a specific program and a specific singer and looks like a promo for the show.”Zandberg said she was glad that the Ethics Committee set a clear standard for MKs’ behavior.“When elected officials promote commercial content it is inappropriate. A line must be drawn and it is good that the Ethics Committee did so,” she said.Golan is a controversial singer, although he remains popular. In 2013 he was arrested for statutory rape but, due to lack of evidence, was not charged.