Judge Noam Sohlberg, chairman of the Central Elections Committee, issued a temporary order this morning (Friday) against the Satmar-linked charity "Shekel HaTahor" (The Pure Shekel), barring it from offering or giving money to voters in order to influence them not to vote.
The petition was filed by the Movement for Quality Government, which claimed the charity has begun distributing "grants" worth $200 to members of the chassidus who declare they will not vote in the elections. The movement argued this violates the law against bribing voters not to cast a ballot.
Section 122(1) of the Knesset Elections Law forbids offering or giving "a bribe in order to influence a voter to vote or to refrain from voting, either in general or for a particular list of candidates." Judge Sohlberg found that based on the evidence submitted with the petition, there is substantial concern of a violation that goes to the root of election law.
