Likud Lawyer Claims Effort to Bring Left-Wing Voters Collapsed

Ilan Bombach, the legal advisor for the Likud party, claims that a petition he filed led to the collapse of an initiative intended to bring tens of thousands of left-wing voters from abroad to Israel for the upcoming elections. Bombach stated that the initiative, which he alleged involved "election bribery," initially aimed to bring 53,000 individuals. However, following the legal challenge, only a few hundred registered.

He asserted that the Central Elections Committee Chairman, Judge Noam Sohlberg, accepted his arguments and required the initiative's organizers to commit to not providing any benefits or discounts related to their travel to Israel. These commitments included refraining from election campaigning, subsidies, group purchasing of flights, or arranging transportation and accommodation for voters on election day.

While criticizing the initiative's methods, Bombach emphasized that Israeli citizens abroad have a legitimate right to travel to Israel to vote. He clarified that the legal issue arises only when such travel is accompanied by the provision of benefits in exchange for a vote, which he considers criminal election bribery.

Bombach further stated that the initiative's organizers were compelled to revise their website multiple times to comply with the commitments made during the legal proceedings. He indicated his intention to monitor the initiative's activities to ensure compliance and warned of consequences if the organizers acted deceptively.