Haredi Election Day Marked by Unique Voter Outreach and Discontent
Translated & summarized from Haaretz by baba
Haredi neighborhoods in Jerusalem experienced a subdued election day with minimal visible campaigning. Activists from Shas distributed symbolic gifts, including kippahs and willow branches, which are generally illegal. One young Haredi man used a "fake disability card" to vote at an accessible polling station. A senior activist announced he and his family would not vote for United Torah Judaism due to the dismissal of two MKs.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Haredi election day saw minimal campaigning, with few activists at polling stations.
- Shas activists distributed illegal gifts like kippahs and willow branches to voters.
- A young Haredi man used a "fake disability card" to vote at an accessible station.
- A senior activist declared he and his family would boycott United Torah Judaism.
- The boycott is a protest against the dismissal of MKs Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev.
Election day in Jerusalem's Haredi neighborhoods was unusually quiet in the morning and afternoon, with a lack of street decorations, campaign vehicles, or energetic activists. Few party representatives from Shas and United Torah Judaism were seen near polling stations. At one polling station in Givat Shaul, an attendant jokingly remarked, "Only winter voters here." A lone Shas activist distributed blessings featuring a laminated willow branch from Sukkot, bearing the party's symbol and images of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri. In Beit Shemesh, Shas activists handed out kippahs (skullcaps) inscribed with "Ovadia Yosef." Distributing gifts to voters is generally against the law.
In Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood, a young Haredi yeshiva student was seen hitchhiking. He explained he was on his way to an accessible polling station to vote for Shas, having traveled from the central region where he studies. He expressed concern about being able to vote without his "fake disability card," which he used to bypass queues. At the accessible polling station, primarily serving elderly individuals in wheelchairs and young people with cognitive disabilities, a short queue had formed. An attendant noted the morning had been much busier. The young man successfully cast his vote and later used a United Torah Judaism shuttle service for his return trip.
Elsewhere in Givat Shaul, right-wing activists were present, with Religious Zionism activists from Smotrich's party shouting "Don't throw votes away." A young Haredi volunteer for the Haredi Public party, who had previously been at a Belz Hasidic stronghold polling station, reported facing some hostility but also support. He joined the effort after Chairman Motty Lightner urged volunteers to mobilize.
A senior Degel HaTorah activist expressed deep personal disappointment, stating he and his family would not vote for United Torah Judaism for the first time due to the "humiliating ousting" of MKs Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev, which he felt the party was downplaying.
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