While the money received as part of Yahadut HaTorah’s party funding was used for chessed, the expenditures did not conform to the law and the chareidi party was fined by the state comptroller. The latest state comptroller’s report addressed spending by political parties ahead of last year’s Knesset election.

The party spent NIS 25,000 for chickens to assist the poor in southern Israel during Operation Cast Lead, aware of the difficulties faced by many residents. NIS 200,000 was spent on food items to distribute to the needy. The state comptroller fined the party NIS 286,000.

Earning special mention were two press conferences held by Yisrael Beitenu carrying price tags of NIS 212,000 and NIS 187,000. The party defended the expenditures since the major events had to be held on a level befitting the situation at hand. Yisrael Beitenu was also mentioned for the extravagant sum paid to campaign advisor Arthur Finkelstein, NIS 653,000, which included his salary and bonuses. Comptroller Lindenstrauss called the party’s expenditures “extravagant”.

The Balad party was also cited for shelling out NIS 175,000 in fuel and fuel vouchers, and failing to provide a reasonable explanation for the expenditure. The state comptroller calculated 33,000 liters of 95 octane fuel could have been purchased for the amount spent, sufficient for 300,000 kilometers (180,000 miles) of travel.

The Labor Party on the other hand spent 14,726 for television sets, which following the elections were sold for half-price to activists. Labor also spent NIS 187,000 on campaign videos and propaganda as it tried to save the party from collapse.

In short, the accumulated debt of the political parties continues to climb from NIS 170 in 2008 to NIS 240 by mid-February 2009. Labor leads with a staggering debt of NIS 87.8 million, followed by Likud with NIS 54.7 million, and Kadima with NIS 35.2 million. It should be pointed out that Kadima is only in existence since 2005.

Once again, Shas emerged unscathed, with a clean state, as the party has done in the past, earning words of praise from State Comptroller Lindenstrauss.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)