A major Satmar-backed financial initiative is set to distribute $200 grants in Eretz Yisroel to qualifying Haredi families who commit to abstaining from the upcoming Knesset election, even as an urgent petition has been filed seeking to halt the distribution.

The initiative is being carried out through Shekel HaTahor, with the latest distribution expected to involve thousands of families and millions of shekels in privately raised funds. Current reporting says the funding comes from donors abroad.

According to current reports, families included on internal registrations known as the “reshimos hatehoros” — “pure lists” — are eligible for a $200 check on condition that members of the household do not participate in the coming election.

The initiative has now also drawn a formal challenge before Israel’s Central Elections Committee.


 

An urgent petition submitted to the Central Elections Committee seeking temporary and injunctive relief against the reported Shekel HaTahor distribution.

The document, submitted to the chairman of the Central Elections Committee for the 26th Knesset, is titled “Urgent Petition for a Temporary Order and Injunction.” It names Satmar Chassidus and Shekel HaTahor among the respondents and seeks intervention in connection with the reported distribution.

The filing alleges that financial assistance is being offered in return for commitments not to vote and asks that the distribution be stopped. Those assertions are claims contained in the petition and should not be treated as a ruling by the committee. The document provided does not establish that an injunction has been issued.

The legal challenge comes as the initiative is expected to operate on a substantial scale. Israeli media reported Thursday that thousands of families are expected to qualify, with millions of shekels involved in the distribution.

Shekel HaTahor itself predates the current initiative. The fund has for years been associated with financial assistance for mosdos in Eretz Yisroel that do not accept government funding, with previous distributions involving millions of dollars.

The Hebrew television report accompanying the latest development said the intended recipients principally include families associated with Satmar, the Edah HaChareidis and other Haredi communities identified with the same position. The reporter also cautioned that the precise scheduling of the distribution was unclear, despite reports that payments were expected to begin Thursday evening.

Current reporting similarly describes the payments as an expected distribution. Accordingly, while thousands of families are reported to be eligible for the $200 grants, the available material does not establish that payments to all of those families have already been completed.

The urgent petition adds a new development to the planned distribution, with the challenge now before the Central Elections Committee as the Shekel HaTahor initiative moves forward.