A story like this doesn’t happen every day. A candidate for the Knesset on behalf of religious Zionism, Zvi Sukot, submitted a petition to the chairman of the Central Election Committee claiming that defamatory messages are being circulated against him anonymously in order to harm his chances of being elected in the religious Zionist primary. The chairman of the election committee, Judge Yitzhak Amit, to whom the petition was addressed, issued an order to the cell phone in order for them to reveal whether they sent the text messages in question. The Telzer-019 company confirmed that three text messages were sent by it, and in light of Judge Amit’s order, it discovered that the text messages were ordered by Yossi Shinover from the Shinover Group company.
But here came the twist in the plot. Judge Amit points out in his decision that according to the Shinover company, Sukkot himself “is the only one with whom she contacted in order to send messages concerning the preliminary elections to the religious Zionist list”. Shinover Group also announced that “the three aforementioned messages were sent on its initiative, with the knowledge of the petitioner himself, and that their purpose is not to discredit him or harm him, but rather to support him.”
In response to this, Sukkot submitted a statement in which he completely denies his connection to the text messages mentioned in the petition and insists that he did not know about the text messages and did not order them, and at that point in time he did not know who Shinover was at all.
Zvi Sukkot / Photo: Flash 90
Shinover claims that the messages were sent on her initiative, in order to support the petitioner
Judge Amit concluded that the petition had reached an impasse. Shinover Group stands by its claim that three of the messages were indeed sent on its initiative, in order to support the petitioner, and with the petitioner’s knowledge, and that there is no additional client whose identity is unknown who is behind the initiative. “When reading the contents of the three aforementioned messages, it is indeed not clear at all why the petitioner sees them as an attempt to cause him political damage. The petitioner has not even given a reason as to why these messages contain defamation or attempted harm.”
According to Judge Amit, “I have no intention of entering into a skirmish between Shinover Group and Sukkot, and each side reserves its claims against the other.”
In the Shinover Group’s response submitted by attorney Guy Bossi, it was stated, “The story of the delusional and finger-sucking act that the petitioner spun… from a thread to a shoelace, is a legal disgrace, a fruitless trolling attempt and wasted the time of the honorable chairman of the election committee
“The facts of the truth prove that the petitioner decided to do everything in order to win the preliminary elections, even by adding the election committee and its chairman to the political cauldron, Shahr Lait Man Deflig, that the petitioner knew in fact that three of the four messages were sent by the respondent.”
The content of the messages: “More Ben Gavir than Ben Gvir”
These messages were sent between August 16 and 20. For example, it was written “A huge surprise in all the polls, among those who function in religious Zionism. Zvi Sukkot, who served as the CEO of Otzma Yehudit, is surprising and comes in third place after Simcha Rothman and Orit Strock”. Because we don’t need Ben Gvir if we have our own Ben Gvir, the former CEO of Otzma Yehudit Zvi Sukot is running on the list and leads according to all the polls and reaches one of the first 3 places. Ben Gvir is running alone, we already have Ben Gvir on the list.”
Further in Shinover’s response, “Would it be conceivable that an anonymous party – seeking to discredit, harm and harm a contestant – would send messages supporting the platform of that contestant, even if they were sent anonymously?
“The factual truth – supported by the affidavit – is that everything was done out of a desire to help the petitioner, as part of those conversations that Shinover and the petitioner had, as well as the three-way conversations with another party.”
Who is that other factor? Well, Globes has learned that it is none other than the CEO of Otzma Yehudit Yitzhak Wasserlauf. At that point in time, Otzma Yehudit was at a boiling point with the Religious Zionist Party, when Ben Gabir announced that he would run alone. Did Otzma Yehudit try to push Zvi Sukkot to the Religious Zionist Party Through messages that say Sukkot is more Ben Gvir than Ben Gvir, and that religious Zionism does not need Itamar Ben Gvir?
In any case, Globes learned that Shinover and Otzma Yehudit are working together. Either way, in a conversation obtained by Globes, Yossi Shinover was heard telling Zvi Sukkot that the message that Sukkot is more Ben Gvir than Ben Gvir is a message he spread in order to harm Smutritz and to encourage the split between religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit.
Otzma Yehudit says that they have nothing to do with the messages that were distributed, and that the connection Wasserlauf made between Sukkot and Shinover was only technical help that occurred a considerable time after the messages were sent, and that Otzma Yehudit did not know at all and still do not know who is behind the distribution of these messages. From the information obtained by Globes, it appears that Sukkot did not know Shinover at the time the messages were sent, and Shinover’s response is incorrect when he claimed that “everything was done out of a desire to help the petitioner, as part of the conversations that Shinover and the petitioner had, as well as the three-way conversations with another party.”
I will file a civil lawsuit. A person I never knew sent messages that hurt me to the party officials, and also claims that he did it to help me. I am disappointed with the election committee that closed the petition without revealing the identity of the sender of the messages.
The company Shinover Group said in response that Yossi Shinover has nothing to do with politics, and that he wishes everyone success.