Following a petition first submitted by Im Tirtzu’s Legal Division, the Elections Committee ruled that the initiative by the New Israel Fund-backed NGO “Zazim” to help elect a left-wing government by busing thousands of Bedouin to the polls is illegal and cannot be carried out!
In 2017, the Knesset passed the “V15” law to prevent foreign funded non-party political organizations from interfering with the elections. The law was passed following the 2015 elections, when the US government-backed “V15” organization tried to topple PM Netanyahu.
Our efforts began in April 2019 prior to the previous national elections, when we filed a petition arguing that the close to $1,000,000 in donations received by Zazim from the NIF was intended to influence the election results, and was thus a violation of the election laws.
Our petition was joined by the Likud after the committee ruled that only political parties could submit petitions. The Election Committee ruled then that Zazim had not spend enough money to be in violation of the law.
Now, however, after Zazim has increased its efforts to bus thousands of Bedouin to the polls, the Elections Committee accepted the original argument and ruled that the group’s initiative is illegal.
This ruling is a tremendous victory for Israeli democracy and sovereignty.
It is important to note that we of course respect the right of Bedouins to vote. We would like all Israeli citizens to vote. What we don’t like is foreign funded manipulation of our voting process, especially by the likes of the NIF that cares nothing for the integrity of our elections. All they want is to get their way.
We will continue working hard to ensure that radical foreign political entities like the New Israel Fund do not determine who the next Prime Minister of Israel will be, and for sure, do not get their way.
