Netanyahu Blasts Viral Facebook Post Urging Voters to Mark Ballots

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a direct attack against the popular Facebook page "Statusim Metzayatsim", linking it to an alleged political maneuver intended to sabotage right-wing voters ahead of the upcoming Knesset elections.

The controversy erupted over a viral post published on the page, which encouraged voters to write the traditional Hebrew abbreviation "BS"D" (With God's Help) in the corner of their ballot slips. The post claimed this would strengthen their vote and mock secular citizens, accompanied by an illustration of a hand-written ballot.

However, under Israeli election law, any extraneous writing, marking, or handwritten addition on a printed ballot slip invalidates the vote entirely. Critics and election experts pointed out that following this recommendation could lead to the disqualification of thousands of ballots, disproportionately affecting traditional and religious voters.

Netanyahu swiftly condemned the post, warning the public against what he described as a malicious election trick. In a sharp statement, the Prime Minister accused the initiators of deliberately attempting to invalidate conservative votes to secure a political win for his opponents, explicitly naming Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan.

"Statusim Metzayatsim", founded in 2010 by journalist Avi Lan, is one of Israel's most influential social media platforms. The page previously faced a high-profile legal battle and temporary shutdown by Meta in 2015 over sponsored content policies before returning to widespread prominence.