The Central Elections Committee rejected last night (Sunday) a petition filed by the left-wing Meretz party against the Zionist organization Im Tirtzu.

In the rejected petition, Meretz accused Im Tirtzu of violating the election laws by allegedly acting as the “executive arm” of the Likud party, and asked the Central Elections Committee to issue an injunction against the group.

Supreme Court Justice Neal Hendel, Chairman of the Elections Committee, rejected the petition and wrote that Meretz provided “no basis of evidence” for its claims, and that Im Tirtzu supports “general ideas, and not specifically a list of candidates for the Knesset elections.”

Meretz’s petition came in response to a large campaign launched by Im Tirtzu in December 2019, which called to reform the “unchecked and overreaching” judicial system in Israel.

Justice Hendel noted that many of the publications attributed to Im Tirtzu by Meretz were not in fact publicized by Im Tirtzu. Hendel further criticized Meretz for submitting the petition only five days ahead of the elections.

Im Tirtzu applauded the committee’s decision, and said that the “disgraceful attempt by the far-left Meretz party to stop the largest Zionist movement in Israel failed miserably.”

“We’re calling on the people of Israel to go out and vote for those who will preserve the Jewish and democratic character of the state.”

Eran Ben-Ari, the legal counsel for Im Tirtzu, called the petition a “spiteful attempt to interfere with the legal and democratic activities of Im Tirtzu.”

 “We will continue to work hard and ensure that such attempts will fail in the future as well,” concluded Ben-Ari.