Election committee blocks left-wing plan to bus Arab voters

ARUTZ SHEVA

Central Election Committee bars left-wing NGO ‘Zazim’ from busing in Arab voters to polling stations on election day.

The Central Elections Committee issued an injunction Sunday night against the left-wing NGO Zazim’s initiative to bus 15,000 Arab voters to voting booths on election day, ruling that the initiative is in violation of the election laws.

The injunction came following a petition submitted by the Likud arguing that Zazim, which is heavily funded by the US-based New Israel Fund, is violating the election the laws.

In 2017, the Knesset passed the “V15” law aimed at preventing foreign funded non-party political organizations from interfering in the elections. The law was passed following the efforts of V15, a US-funded group, which actively worked to defeat Prime Minister Netanyahu in the 2015 national elections.

Efforts against Zazim’s initiative began ahead of the previous national elections in April 2019, when the Zionist organization Im Tirtzu filed a petition to the Elections Committee.

The Likud joined Im Tirtzu’s petition after the committee ruled that only political parties could submit petitions, but the petition was nonetheless rejected.

Now, due to the increased activity of Zazim, the Elections Committee led by Justice Hanan Melcer accepted the original argument and ruled that the left-wing group’s initiative is in violation of the law.

Im Tirtzu’s Legal Division hailed the ruling as “a large victory for Israeli democracy.”

“The ruling sends a clear message to radical New Israel Fund-backed organizations like Zazim that the Israeli public will not tolerate their attempts to interfere in the elections,” said Im Tirtzu.

“Im Tirtzu will continue to lead the fight against delegitimization organizations who seek to erase the Jewish and democratic character of Israel.”