Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg on Friday morning issued a temporary injunction against the “Shekel HaTahor" nonprofit organization, which is affiliated with the Satmar Hasidic movement. The injunction prohibits the organization from giving voters money in order to influence them not to vote, or from offering or promising them such payments.
The Committee Chairman’s decision follows expedited proceedings that began when the Movement for Quality Government filed a petition alleging that the organization had begun providing $200 “support payments" to members of the Hasidic community who declare that they will not vote in the elections.
The movement argued that this constitutes a violation of the prohibition against offering bribes in exchange for refraining from voting, and demanded the immediate intervention of the court and the Committee Chairman to halt the distribution of the grants.
After reviewing the materials submitted to him, the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee found that, according to the evidence attached to the petition, there was serious concern that the law was being violated in a manner that goes to the heart of election law.
In light of the seriousness of the findings and the immediate harm to the integrity of the electoral process and proper democratic procedure, the Committee Chairman acted without delay to prevent the continued distribution of the funds.
The injunction will remain in effect until further notice, while law enforcement authorities will continue examining the organization’s financial activities and suspicions of criminal offenses.
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