Labor leadership race plagued by claims of fraud, threats
Candidates for the leadership of the Labor Party file petitions alleging fraud, threats and other underhanded tactics; large emphasis placed upon voter register; party secretary-general claims candidates are spreading false accusations aimed at postponing the primaries.
On Sunday, the party is set to hold a hearing on a petition filed by Dina Dayan, an ultra-Orthodox social activist who is running for party leadership in the July 4 elections.
Dayan's May 18 petition claimed there are recorded testimonies from Arab residents who say they never registered for the party—despite being listed in the party's voter register.
"Registration to the party is a matter of will, and not knowing about the registration raises a suspicion of serious crimes being committed," wrote Dayan.
Dayan is also claiming that Peretz's supporters distributed vouchers for Rami Levy grocery stores to registered Labor members in an attempt to unlawfully convince them to vote for him.
Dayan said she had felt threatened after receiving calls and text messages from Ori Ramati, a senior lobbyist and associate of another candidate for the chairmanship, MK Amir Peretz. Ramati, she said, had asked her to withdraw her petition demanding an investigation into the party registration process. Ramati further advised her "not to do any nonsense."
Dayan is expected to hold a press conference Sunday in which she will demand an internal investigation or a criminal investigation into the matter.
MK Erel Margalit, who is also running for leadership of the party, took Dayan's claims a step further and called on Peretz to resign due to what he called "corrupt behavior."
"Peretz needs to announce his resignation today. Not just from the race, but from public life," said Margalit. "I'm done being quiet. My party, which I was born into and have never left, has been hijacked by a mafia that wants to steal the election and extort the candidates. I am shocked and appalled by the threats and attempts to silence (other candidates) by the Peretz campaign."
MK Peretz, who is also holding a press conference Sunday, denied the accusations and claimed that the allegations are part of a smear campaign designed to hurt him. Furthermore, Peretz called the reports of registered Arab members "fake news."
Peretz explained that Arabs were not prepared to admit that they had joined a Zionist party and therefore denied their membership.
Secretary-General of the Labor Party, Eran Hermoni, confirmed Peretz's version and said he had met with these registered members and saw their membership card.
Peretz also attacked Margalit, saying, "It is probably very difficult to invest millions and discover people don't like you or believe you, and that you're behind in the polls. Erel continues to recycle the same claims that have long been refuted, and that he himself knows aren't true. The fact that I am leading and expected to win is causing him and others to lose their minds."
Associates close to Peretz even claimed that Dayan was being used as a "straw candidate" by Margalit against Peretz's campaign.
However, Dayan is not alone in her accusations. Her petition joins several others that question the registration process.
Maj. Gen. (res.) Amiram Levin, another candidate for party leadership, also appealed to the Central Elections Committee to disqualify some 14,000 party members, claiming they had registered illegally.
Avi Gabay, another candidate, also demanded that credit card checks be conducted on a group of party members in an attempt to identify possible fraud.
In another complaint, head of the opposition and incumbent party leader MK Isaac Herzog claimed that a "cyber attack" was directed at party computers causing changes in the voter registration.
Although the assessment is that this was an internal problem, a senior Labor official claimed that in January, a Knesset member entered the party's database and made changes, including changing the phone numbers of MKs Herzog and Shelly Yachimovich. Additionally, MK Manuel Trajtenberg's address was also changed in the alleged attack.
In response to the fracas, Hermoni rejected the claims and said candidates were spreading false accusations aimed at postponing the primaries.
In a further attempt to dampen claims of voter registration manipulation or irregularities, Hermoni circulated a letter Sunday stressing that "the Labor Party conducts a screening process of member data like no other party."
