Haredi Youth Admit Receiving Cash to Vote in Likud Primaries

A disturbing video surfaced on Monday revealing that young Haredi men were paid to vote in the Likud party primaries. The footage, published by Kikar HaShabbat and recorded at the Knesset’s Binyanei HaUma during the primaries, shows two Haredi youths openly admitting they received cash payments to cast votes, despite having no genuine interest in politics or the candidates. One of the men stated, "I came to vote, but I don’t care about politics or anything, they just paid me money." He also explained that Likud representatives send people and pay them to secure votes in the primaries.

The two men, who declined to reveal their full names, showed a pre-prepared list of candidate numbers they were instructed to vote for, including numbers 103, 105, 143, 122, 125, 126, 127, 128, 133, 138, 144, 208 nationally, and 315 in the Jerusalem district. Only one name was recognized by them: Dudi Amsalem, the first on the list. They clarified that registering with Likud does not mean they intend to vote for the party in the general elections; one said he would vote according to rabbinical guidance or even for Otzma Yehudit’s Itamar Ben-Gvir if paid.

One youth, named Netanel, revealed he was paid 400 shekels for voting. Both concluded bluntly, "Only money, only money. We don’t work for free, we want money, what can we do?" The Likud primaries saw about 142,000 participants, including thousands of Haredim from various sects, estimated at around 7,000 voters. Given the primary system, a candidate needs only a few thousand votes to secure a realistic spot on the list.

This exposure raises serious concerns about the integrity of the Likud primaries and whether this is an isolated incident or part of a broader organized scheme. Similar allegations of vote-buying have surfaced in other party primaries before, but rarely with such explicit admissions as those revealed here.