New Haredi Party Faces Legal Pressure Over Use of 'Gimel' Letter in Campaign

The newly formed Haredi political party, "Haredi Public Faction," led by Beit Shemesh Deputy Mayor Moti Leitner, is facing legal challenges over its use of the Hebrew letter Gimel in its election campaign. The letter Gimel traditionally represents the established Haredi party United Torah Judaism (UTJ) on ballots. Over the past day, four lawyers have demanded that the new party cease using the letter, arguing it causes voter confusion and infringes on UTJ's electoral symbol rights.

The party launched a billboard campaign featuring Leitner alongside the letter Gimel to signal their demand for representation within UTJ and also to seek inclusion within the Shas party. An organization called "Chokati - Haredim for State and Public Governance" urged UTJ to take legal action against the new faction's use of the letter. Attorney Moshe Shipman criticized UTJ's silence and questioned why they had not acted to protect their party symbols.

Additionally, attorney Chaim Kaplin sent a letter on behalf of a private citizen whose image was used without consent on the new party's billboards, depicting him lying on asphalt with torn clothes and the slogan "The honor of the Torah is trampled," alongside the letter Gimel. Another legal group, the "Association of Lawyers for Promoting Proper Administration," appealed to Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni and Bnei Brak Mayor Hanoch Zeibert to remove all such signs by July 30, threatening to escalate the matter to the Elections Committee.

The Haredi Public Faction responded that political intimidation through legal threats would not stop their public struggle for proper representation of all Haredi communities within UTJ and Shas. They emphasized their commitment to fight for tens of thousands of Haredim who need leadership addressing core community issues, asserting that public demand cannot be suppressed by empty threats.