BREAKING NEWS

Yesh Atid fined for breaking election laws

The Justice Ministry fined Yesh Atid NIS 40,000 on Wednesday for appealing to Holocaust survivors for votes using a list of survivors obtained by party leader Yair Lapid in his professional capacity when he was finance minister. The ministry also fined the umbrella group of Holocaust survivors that gave the list to Lapid NIS 10,000, and the head of the umbrella group, former Labor MK Colette Avital, NIS 5,000.
Yesh Atid apologized for what it called a onetime mistake, noting that the party had never before broken the law. The party said it would continue to stand for clean politics and governance. But Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On, whose complaint to the ministry led to the fines, said a more severe punishment was needed. “This decision gives a green light for continued corruption,” Gal-On said.