State Comptroller Yosef Shapira announced Sunday that he had warned of possible
illegal behavior regarding Likud primary elections by Likud MK and Israel
Aerospace Industries (IAI) union head Haim Katz in a letter he sent last week to
the head of the Electoral Commission, Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, and
Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein.
According to the state comptroller’s
spokesperson, Shapira’s letter indicated that use of IAI’s facilities, computers
and other resources for political purposes, in particular during work hours,
could be illegal.
The letter also noted that distracting employees from
their jobs during work hours could hurt the corporation’s efficiency and
profitability, which is even more problematic since IAI gets considerable public
funding.
Shapira sent the letter in response to a complaint filed by one
of IAI’s workers, Amir Hermoni. Shapira wrote that his office had received
complaints in the past about Katz’s behavior, which added credibility to the
current suspicions against him.
Despite all of the above, Shapira
emphasized that he had brought the allegations to Rubinstein and Weinstein’s
attention as only they could take direct action against Katz, if
necessary.
Katz’s associates responded that IAI workers do not vote
during work hours. They said people who work to defend the country’s skies
should be given the benefit of the doubt as law-abiding citizens.
“IAI
workers use their democratic right to vote according to the law,” Katz said.
“Such serial complaints are issued every four years when the Likud has
elections, and they are always rejected.
“My support in the public is the
result of my socioeconomic legislation over the past four years,” he added
Voting slips given to IAI workers indicated that Katz had made a political deal
with Likud candidate Moshe Feiglin, Vice Premier Silvan Shalom and
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz.