Israel Matzav

Israeli 'justice' in action

I really did not want to get involved in Beit Shemesh's 'do-over' Mayoral election (a family friend is running one candidate's campaign), but this is really too much and has to at least be pointed out.

For those who are not familiar with the story, in the Beit Shemesh Mayoral election in October, the Haredi incumbent defeated the secular challenger by less than 1,000 votes. During the day, police supposedly found 'hundreds' of identification cards in a home in Beit Shemesh. But it turns out - at least if this story by a supporter of the secular candidate (link in Hebrew, but I'm embedding an English translation below) is correct - that the total number of identification cards found was... 161. Those identification cards were not used to vote. They were turned in by people who were paid (yes, that happens in the Jewish state) not to vote, and who deposit their identification cards for the day in order to ensure that they really don't vote. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

The Jerusalem district court ruled that the elections should be done over, and the Supreme Court upheld that ruling. The new elections are taking place on Tuesday. 

I'm embedding the English translation below. A comment will follow (Hat Tip: Asher G).



President Obama and his Chicago friends have nothing - nothing - on the Israeli court system.

But the key to this article is the last sentence:

It is difficult to imagine that there is any other sector, other than the Chareidi sector,  whose election victory the court could feel so free to invalidate based on such flimsy evidence.

Indeed. 

Labels: Beit Shemesh, Haredim, Israeli democracy, lies, Supreme Court

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:18 PM