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The Likud Deficits and Ganz's Expenditures on "Information Security": The Comptroller's Report on Party Expenditures

The State Comptroller calls for restricting political propaganda on social media: "There are indications that parties are running fictitious accounts."

The report shows that Barak's "Independence" faction ended the election with prohibited donations of NIS 5 million.

And also: which parties were fined and in what amounts?

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• Benjamin Netanyahu

• Bnei Gantz

• Moshe Ya'alon

• Matanyahu Engelman

His dew

Tuesday, November 30, 2021, 10:00 p.m.

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In the video: Finance Minister Lieberman accuses Netanyahu of political use of IDF soldiers (stills: Reuven Castro, editor: Nir Chen)

The State Comptroller, Matanyahu Engelman, calls on the Knesset to act on legislation that regulates rules and restrictions for political propaganda posts on social networks, and to consider imposing sanctions on parties that have improved the provisions of the law on the subject. In the auditor's report on party accounts in the first and second election campaigns, he devotes a special chapter to official and unofficial political and propaganda activities on social networks, revealing that a special study found indications that factions are acquiring Facebook and Twitter accounts and operating fictitious accounts. "There is concern that there is a wide-ranging discourse on social media that claims to be authentic, which may mislead the public and even skew public opinion in favor of or against factions, thereby affecting election results," the comptroller writes in the report. All the parties that were required to respond, by the way, denied that they had purchased accounts to promote the party or activated fictitious profiles, and the comptroller called on the Knesset to act to regulate the issue of anonymous publications with the social networks themselves.

Two years late, the Comptroller publishes today the expenditure and income statements of the factions and parties that ran in the elections for the 21st Knesset, April 2019, and the 22nd Knesset, in September 2019, as well as an overview of their financial balance sheets in the months preceding those elections.

The report reveals the large deficits that the parties accumulated in the first two election campaigns, followed by two more election campaigns, whose accounting balance has not yet been completed, so that the parties' debts and liabilities today may be different.

The auditor examines whether the parties managed their accounts in accordance with the guidelines and whether their expenses and income were within the limits set by the law, and in any case not, he may fine her and deprive her of funding she receives from the state.

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"There is a dialogue on the networks that may mislead the public and even skew public opinion" (Photo: Flash 90, no)

The Likud stars in the list of deficits and fines - the former ruling party ended the first election campaign with a deficit of NIS 21 million and the second election campaign with a deficit of NIS 38 million.

The party's deficit has only grown even more in recent elections.

In the first election, the Labor Party, then headed by Avi Gabay, also ended with a deficit of NIS 13 million, the new right of Naftali Bennett, which did not pass the blocking percentage, with a deficit of NIS 8.5 million, and Shas with a deficit of NIS 7.5 million.

The Likud receives several reprimands and fines in the auditor's report - NIS 200,000 for exceeding the ceiling of allowable expenses in the September 2019 elections, and the traditional fine for Likud / LaMiada events in the amount of NIS 50,000.

The annual gathering of Likud elected and activist activists in Eilat has starred in every report of the Comptroller in recent years, as has the last Leumiada, which took place in January 2019, during the elections to the 21st Knesset.

The comptroller states that because the event served as a platform for Likud ministers and MKs and also received extensive media coverage, it is considered a contribution that exceeds the limits set by law, and calls on the Likud to regulate clear written procedures towards future Leumade organizers and participants.

Netanyahu (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Another issue that comes up in the report is the generous salary increases paid to consultants and campaign managers during the election period. % On their salary, in the total amount of 900 thousand shekels. In the second date elections, in the same party, 11 workers received a wage increase of 84%, in the total amount of NIS 800,000. The comptroller does not name the party, but publications on the subject in the past two years have reported salary increases of a similar amount to the closest advisers to Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Comptroller notes that the Mysterious Party did not present any references or details according to which criteria the wage supplements were distributed and states that "in order to ensure proper and cost-effective use of public funds, which are the main source of funding for factions "Among other things, the terms of employment that have been determined and an orderly mechanism regarding updating or changing the terms of employment, as well as those in the faction who will be authorized to engage in the issue of employing workers."

Also among those reprimanded and fined in the auditor's report: Defense Minister and former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon, who was required to transfer NIS 50,000 to the state coffers as a fine for his conduct in the use of donations. Ya'alon, who left the Likud in 2016, founded an organization called "Other Leadership" as a platform for his political activities, until he founded the Telam Party, which eventually joined in blue and white in 2019. Ya'alon's partner in Blue and White, Defense Minister Bnei Gantz's Resilience to Israel's party, was fined NIS 50,000 at the expense of its submissions regarding the Monday elections in September 2019. The auditor states that the party reported large expenses on * information security * And did not present sufficient references to substantiate the plausibility of the expense.In those elections a blue-and-white storm raged, after Ganz's men hired a private investigative firm to investigate internal leaks.

Among the reprimanded. Ya'alon (Photo: official website, Adina Welman, Knesset Spokeswoman)

Another party union that ended in fines and reprimands is the union of the left between Meretz, Stav Shafir and the independence parties for the "Democratic camp" list in the September 2019 elections. Those for donations are prohibited by law. The other two sides in the Democratic camp union also ended the election with excessive debts from the spending ceiling and the comptroller decided to deny them funding - Meretz was fined NIS 200,000 and the green movement headed by Stav Shafir was fined NIS 100,000.

In addition, Shas was fined NIS 50,000 for prohibited propaganda - videos she broadcast on her Facebook page of government-funded events. .The auditor states that the camp subsidy has a direct financial benefit for the families of the participants and therefore this is an exceptional expense that must be reported.

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