From AI to legal battle: how the Haredi mechanism prepares for election day

When people talk about the well-oiled "Haredi machine," the imagination takes us to sophisticated computing systems, technological segmentation, artificial intelligence algorithms, or field headquarters deployed across the country. All of these do exist, operate, and are managed with impressive surgical precision, but the simple and profound truth is that the entire machine begins, breathes, and ends with one thing only: the word of the Torah giants and rabbis.

Everything converges to that same moment, usually towards the Sabbath before election day, when the "Kol Kore" (proclamation) is published. Synagogues and shtieblach serve as the first command center, where letters and halachic rulings from the Council of Torah Sages are read, mandating voting as a Torah commandment and by virtue of "and you shall do according to all that they instruct you." For the Haredi public, this is not a political recommendation; it is an absolute religious duty. Once the rabbis call to go out and vote, a phenomenon occurs that cannot truly be predicted in polls. The public is mobilized with one hundred percent commitment. That commitment is expressed not only in showing up personally behind the curtain to cast the right ballot, but in total mobilization for the success of the entire campaign.

Here the beauty and power of the community are revealed. The bond created throughout the year in daily meetings at the shtiebel, in joint prayers, at the third meal, and in conversations with neighbors becomes a mutual safety net on election day. No one is left behind. If there is an avrech who is lazy, an elderly person who has difficulty walking, a new mother, or someone who is immersed in their daily affairs, the entire community mobilizes to bring him to the polling station.

On the ground, an army of volunteers is formed, alongside mobile loudspeaker systems (Kumsitz vehicles and numbered vans) that pass through the streets and remind the public to go out and vote, emphasizing that every vote counts. Volunteers operate private transport systems, and telephone operators do not stop dialing, inquiring, encouraging, and asking, "When are you going to vote?"

There are no financial motives or personal interests here; there is a deep sense of mission and a burning belief that every ballot in the box is part of protecting the world of Torah, education, and the Jewish character of the state. Technology and organization provide the tools, but the beating heart, the fuel that drives the wheels, and the tailwind that brings high voter turnout all belong to absolute obedience to the rabbis.

Voices from the field: the logistical operation of Degel HaTorah

Someone who has known this system from the inside for more than three decades is Rabbi Avraham Weber, a representative of Degel HaTorah and the longest-serving member of the Central Elections Committee, who provides a glimpse into how the party machine works behind the scenes.

"It's not just election day, it's the atmosphere that is created all the time," Weber explains about the work infrastructure. According to him, the party's main advantage is based on deep communal familiarity that does not exist in the general sector: "In secular places, they know their neighbors less — they are in the elevator and go to the parking lot. With us, they meet them in the shtiebel, at the third meal, in all places. The connection is not one-sided."

Alongside the communal connection, the party operates an orderly computer system and dedicated name databases. "Unlike non-sectoral parties, which have no names and do not know who to bring, our computer system maintains contact before the elections," Weber notes. The system includes preliminary phone calls to voters with the exact location of the polling station, needs assessment, and organization of a transport system operated by volunteers.

On election day itself, the official day off is also used for short family trips that combine a quick stop at the polling station together with the children. The system tracks the pace of voting in real time: party representatives at the polling stations passed ongoing reports, and those who had not yet voted received a direct reminder call from their neighbors in the area: "'Sir, you haven't arrived, come, when are you going to vote?' — they are speeding up those who are already ready."

However, the old mechanism of receiving ongoing reports from polling station representatives on election day is now facing a big question mark following the ruling of Judge Noam Sohlberg (the decision that prohibited tracking and registering voters at the polling station in real time for mobilization purposes).

"I don't know what will happen here in light of Sohlberg's ruling, we'll see how we deal with it," Weber admits. "The issue was submitted to the Supreme Court and we are waiting for the final answers. It is too early to talk about it, but we will find solutions. With us, direct communication works much faster than anywhere else."

Where do the percentages disappear?

According to Weber, voter turnout among the target audience of Degel HaTorah ranges from 80% to 85%, and in checks conducted in the past in Jerusalem, it even reached 93%.

When asked where the percentages of those who do not vote disappear despite the pressure and close tracking, Weber explains that it is mainly a statistical distortion of the voter registry: "A central reason is residents abroad. For example, an avrech who studied at the Mir Yeshiva, received citizenship, and after five years returned abroad. He remains registered in the voter registry in the same neighborhood, but in practice, he does not exist in the country. In our databases, we know who lives here and who does not."

Alongside this, Weber notes a certain trend change: "Today, little by little, people are gaining independent thinking and sometimes decide not to go out and vote."

Despite the ongoing maintenance and telephone systems, Weber clarifies what is the decisive factor that ultimately drives the public to the polling station: "At the end of the process, the trump card is the rabbis. The 'Kol Kore' that is published towards the Sabbath before the elections, and the gatherings that are held with them — that is what brings the result."

Shas's field machine: from municipal to AI

If for the Ashkenazim the focus is the communal shtiebel, in Shas it is a nationwide operation that starts from local government and grows out of an advanced technological data system. The CEO of the Shas movement, Haim Biton, tells about one of the largest and most well-oiled field mechanisms in Israel.

"The great strength of Shas starts at the municipal level," says Biton. "The Shas movement has the largest municipal representation in the country — about 220 representatives who were elected across the country and do work for all four years. You don't come to an election campaign in a vacuum. They know the area, take care of the public, and at the moment of truth, they are the ones who become the headquarters managers with their teams. The field item is the most important component of our election budget."

Biton describes the organizational structure on election day: at the head of the system sits the movement's chairman Aryeh Deri, who watches and supervises all managers, regional managers, headquarters heads, and batteries throughout the day. Below him is an entire logistical and budgetary system that operates in the field. In the end, every field activist receives direct and focused responsibility for only about 50 households. His role is to track, check, and talk directly with voters and undecideds — sometimes by physically arriving at their homes.

Biton clarifies the demographic calculation: "People think that a household is 4-5 votes, but on election day the average is around 1.5 voters per household, and in Tel Aviv even 1.3."

He says that Shas uses top-notch technological tools. According to Biton, the movement possesses databases that were built over many years, alongside a permanent staff of developers: "Our systems today work with AI methods with all possible tools. The goal is to analyze the area, check, and sort at any given moment. A person who can say today that he is not voting for Shas can change his mind in a month. We do not rely on external polls, we have our own research and direct data from the field."

Dealing with limitations and the real goal

The big challenge of the current election campaign comes from the legal arena. The judge's ruling that prohibited the transfer of direct voting reports from within the polling stations forced Shas to make quick adjustments.

"I as a jurist think the judge's decision is wrong," says Biton. "The goal of democracy is to increase voter turnout, in the legal worlds there is a clear rule that there are no retroactive decisions. This is a decision that changes things in the middle of the game. In other countries, voting is computerized and all parties know in real time who voted. In the past, we knew the exact situation, from today the information will be less certain — a person can say that he voted at a different polling station or at a polling station for the disabled. But we are not panicked: we have adapted all our systems to the new method, and every activist is equipped with an app that updates who voted and continues to push the field."

When Biton was asked about the party's mandate target and reports about an aspiration for 12 mandates, he refuses to get excited about forecasts: "We are aware of the complex campaign, the poison on the streets, and what is happening in the judicial system. We do not deal with numbers and are not excited about polls that always predict 6, 7, or 8 mandates for us months before the elections. Shas has always proven itself. Our goal is simple: to bring the maximum possible from the field, and our field is stable, organized, and works with all its might."