Following the report on News 14: The unusual demand from the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee

Following the report on News 14 last week regarding the activities of the "Bou" association and the approximately two million shekels transferred to it since the beginning of its operations, inquiries were sent today (Sunday) to the Democrats party, the association, and the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg. At the center are questions regarding the connection between the association and the party and its sources of funding. In a letter sent by the legal advisor of the Likud, Adv. Ilan Bombach, it is claimed that there is a "real suspicion" that the association serves as the "long arm" of the faction; at the same time, the "Ad Kan" organization demands that the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee open an investigation and issue an injunction against the association's activities.

The exposure of the activities of the "Bou" association is now moving to the legal and political arena. Following the report on News 14, several letters were sent dealing with the association's activities, its alleged connection to the Democrats party, and the sources of the funds transferred to it.

As we reported, the "Bou" association was established after the October 7 massacre, and at the beginning of its path, it sought to operate in the arena of the student union. Today, it also operates in matters concerning elections. According to the report, the association is managed by activists from the Democrats party, and since the beginning of its operations, about two million shekels have been transferred to it, the sources of which, according to the information provided to us, are not detailed in a way that allows knowing who is behind them.

Following the report, the legal advisor of the Likud, Adv. Ilan Bombach, turned to both the "Bou" association and the Democrats party and demanded that they clarify the nature of the connection between them. In his letter, Bombach claimed that on the face of it, "there is a real suspicion that the association serves as the long arm of the faction and constitutes a body connected to the faction."

The significance of the claim is that if it is determined that there is a connection of the type alleged between the association and a political party, this may be relevant to the obligations that apply to activity and funding during an election period. At this stage, this is a claim raised by the legal advisor of the Likud, and not a determination by the Central Elections Committee or the Registrar of Associations.

Another inquiry was sent to the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg. The "Ad Kan" organization demands that he examine the association's activities and its sources of funding. The organization requests, among other things, to open an investigation regarding the source of the funds transferred to the association, to declare it a "body active in elections," and to issue an injunction against its activities.

The inquiry effectively transfers the question to the doorstep of the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee: does the activity carried out by the association and the alleged connections between it and political entities require it to comply with the rules that apply to bodies active in the election system.

The Registrar of Associations is also now addressing the claims regarding "Bou." In a response provided to News 14, it was stated that the association currently does not have a certificate of proper management and that the claims raised will be transferred for examination: "The association does not have a certificate of proper management. The claims raised will be transferred for examination by the relevant factors in the unit, which will examine the new information received in the inquiry, together with additional data from the association's file. After this examination is carried out, it will be determined whether there is a place to hold a supervision procedure regarding the association."

No response was received from the Bou association.