Election Day in Beit Shemesh is off to a difficult start. Kol Berama Radio reported earlier that it is receiving a growing number of phone calls from chareidim who went to vote early, all speaking of an incredible police presence.

The fact that many policemen are in the area is not bothersome, but voters are reporting they had to pass two and three police inspections before being permitted to enter a polling station to vote, attributing the inspections to a 20-30 minute delay. Israel Police spokesman for chareidi affairs Shabtai Gerverchik told Kol Berama that policemen are not to conduct inspections inside the polling stations. When he was told that this may be what the orders say but in actuality, police are doing just that. He said he would check and advise.

“They checked me like I was number one on the Wanted List” and “they treated me like a terrorist” were some of the comments from chareidi voters, who explain they asked policemen why they were being checked when they know other police checked them 10 meters away.

Wishing to determine if the same was taking place in non-chareidi areas of Beit Shemesh, voters drove to the other polling stations and many people independent of one another report “there was only one policeman present in non-chareidi areas”.

It is early and the closing of polling stations at 22:00 is a long way off. The day promises to be one with complaints and accusations from both sides as chareidim are working to rectify the situation described above. Shas leader Aryeh Deri has filed an official complaint with the Central Election Committee alleging the Eli Cohen campaign is distributed a false ad in which they seek to dupe voters into believing Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef ZT”L supported his candidacy.

Police spokesman Gerverchik added that at the end of the day, when polls close at 22:00, police will escort all ballots to the Mifal HaPayis community center building where the votes will be tabulated.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)