Opposition Claims 'Election Bribery' in Finance Committee, but Faces Past Precedents

During a meeting of the Finance Committee held on Tuesday, opposition members criticized the committee's convening during the election period, claiming that the transfer of funds to the ultra-Orthodox public constitutes "election bribery." However, MK Yinon Azoulay (Shas) produced records that spoke for themselves, revealing that the opposition had engaged in the same practice during the "change government" era, just one week before the elections.

The meeting was made possible by section 112b of the Knesset bylaws, which states:

"The Speaker of the Knesset may permit a committee to hold meetings during the recess, in special cases, upon the request of the committee chairman, the government, by written notice from the Cabinet Secretary, or by a third of the committee members, in which the subject of the meeting will be detailed."

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana approved the convening of the committee based on this section, a decision also supported by the Knesset's legal advisor, Adv. Sagit Afik.

During the discussion, MK Mickey Levy claimed that "this section has not been used for 20 years." However, the protocols show that during the previous election campaign, when Levy served as Knesset Speaker, he himself utilized the same section to convene the Finance Committee just a week before the elections, during which coalition funds were approved for the Yesh Atid, Yamina, and Yisrael Beiteinu parties.

The Shas party stated:

"What has changed? Not the law, not the section, and not the procedure — only the identity of the government. What was completely legitimate when the Bennett-Lapid government did it, suddenly became 'election bribery' when the current government acts in the same way. It is political hypocrisy."