Election bribery? The call by Gilad Kariv that raises a legal question

We published this evening (Monday) on News 14: Have the efforts to bring Israelis from abroad to the polling stations crossed the line permitted by law? According to documentation that reached us, MK Gilad Kariv from the Democrats party called a few weeks ago for party members to spend their own money and assist in paying for flight tickets for family members and friends staying abroad, with the goal of bringing them to Israel ahead of the elections. These matters raise the question of whether financing the travel of a voter, when done in connection with their vote, could be considered an illicit benefit according to election laws.

In the political system, preparations are being made not only for the struggle over the votes of Israelis located in the country, but also for a large group of eligible voters staying abroad — who, in most cases, are required to arrive in Israel to exercise their right.

According to the information that reached us, in the left-wing parties and among elements identified with the Kaplan protest, mechanisms are operating with the goal of encouraging Israelis staying abroad to arrive in the country and vote. Sources in the Democrats estimate, according to the information provided to us, that the potential support among Israelis abroad may be equal to about three mandates.

Against this background, the words of MK Gilad Kariv take on special significance. According to the documentation, Kariv spoke a few weeks ago before members of the Democrats about the efforts to bring voters from abroad and called on them to spend money from their own pockets to help family members and friends arrive in Israel. The call dealt, according to the material provided, also with the financing of their flight tickets.

Here arises the central legal question: can financing a flight ticket for a voter to enable their arrival for voting be considered an illicit benefit? The very act of calling on Israelis abroad to arrive in the country and vote is, of course, not an offense. The question becomes more complex when, alongside the encouragement to arrive at the polling station, the financing of the voter's travel is also offered, and in particular if there is a connection between that benefit and voting for a specific party.

In another conversation he held with Israelis in London, according to the information provided, Kariv also addressed the political scenario after the elections and the possibility that the Democrats party would sit in a "change government" alongside elements located to its right on the political map, including Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman. Kariv also addressed Bennett and claimed that his positions had changed and become more moderate over the years.

Alongside the possibility of such cooperation, Kariv clarified that entering a government with Bennett and Lieberman would not lead, from the Democrats' perspective, to a waiver of the party's political positions. According to the things provided, he committed that even within the framework of such a government, his party would act to promote the idea of a Palestinian state.

This position integrates with Kariv's public political line. On the official website of the Democrats, he is presented as one of the prominent voices in the Knesset "for the renewal of the political process with the Palestinian Authority within the framework of a regional settlement," and on his personal website it is noted that he has been active for years in promoting the two-state solution.