Haifa Election Campaign Uses Fake Ben-Gurion Letter to Boost Turnout
Translated & summarized from Globes by baba
The Haifa Municipality launched a campaign to boost voter turnout using a fabricated historical letter attributed to former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. The letter, claiming to adjust polling hours in Haifa due to early sleeping habits, was debunked by election officials and social media users due to historical inaccuracies and linguistic anomalies. Haifa consistently shows lower voter turnout than the national average, prompting the municipality's creative, albeit fake, appeal.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Haifa Municipality used a fake David Ben-Gurion letter to encourage voter turnout.
- The fabricated letter cited early sleeping habits for different polling hours in Haifa.
- Election officials confirmed the letter was a fake due to historical and linguistic errors.
- Haifa has consistently recorded lower voter turnout than the national average.
- In 2022, Haifa's voter turnout was 56% compared to the national 70.62%.
A mysterious letter, purportedly from former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in March 1952, circulated on Facebook, claiming to set closing times for polling stations in Haifa. The letter, addressed to the Central Elections Committee, stated that polling stations in Haifa should close by 10 PM, citing the city's residents' early sleeping habits. This was presented as a deviation from other cities where polls remained open later.
However, the letter was quickly debunked as a fabrication. Firstly, no general elections were held in March 1952; the second Knesset elections took place in July 1951, and presidential elections were held in December 1952. Secondly, sharp-eyed Facebook users noted that the letter's phrasing, specifically the use of the preposition 'et' (את), was uncharacteristic of Ben-Gurion, who reportedly avoided it. The letter was revealed to be part of a campaign by the Haifa Municipality to encourage voter turnout.
In a video shared by the municipality, Dean Livna, Acting Director-General of the Central Elections Committee, confirmed the document was a fake. He explained that a prime minister cannot dictate to the independent Central Elections Committee and reiterated that no elections were held in March 1952. Livna urged Haifa residents to vote in the upcoming elections, highlighting the city's consistently low voter turnout rates.
Haifa has a history of lower-than-average voter participation. In the 2022 elections, the national turnout was 70.62%, while Haifa's was only 56%. This gap, representing approximately 111,448 non-voters in 2022, is a recurring trend. For instance, in the 2021 elections, national turnout was 67.4% compared to Haifa's 55%. Even in 2015, with a higher national turnout of 72.3%, Haifa's participation was 62.2%, and in 2009, it was 58% against a national rate of 65%.