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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIsraelis Cry Foul on U.S. Cash Influencing Their Election
(Bloomberg) -- In a Tel Aviv storefront, 84-year-old volunteer Zelda Harris is working the phones for the V15 group trying to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. U.S. billionaire S. Daniel Abraham, founder of Slim-Fast Foods Co., is helping to fund the effort.
Across the country, men and women in red jumpsuits hand out free copies of Israel Hayom, a pro-Netanyahu daily. The paper is financed by American gambling tycoon Sheldon Adelson.
Critics are concerned that cash from overseas donors will affect next months vote. I would like to see foreign money out of Israeli politics, said Hebrew University of Jerusalem political science Professor Menachem Hofnung. Legally, it would be very difficult to do because you cant stop people from funding certain ideas, he said.
The law prohibits foreigners and Israelis living overseas from donating directly to candidates campaigns in the general election. The influence wielded on the public by a daily newspaper or a privately-funded organization cant be quantified.
While foreigners have been active in Israeli elections for the past two decades, the issue has assumed a higher profile this time.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-08/u-s-flow-of-funds-to-influence-israel-election-spurs-foul-cry
riqster
(13,986 posts)malaise
(269,187 posts)Ditto
annabanana
(52,791 posts)annabanana
(52,791 posts)as opposed to AIPAC?
bravenak
(34,648 posts)gordianot
(15,245 posts)I love it when the finger pointing starts on all sides. Fascinating
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)what a web we conspire to weave when we desire to deceive...or something like that. Blowback might be another appropriate term