While attention has focused on foreign influence from the Middle East, an exclusive investigation reveals how money from Europe allegedly financed campaign rallies for Israel’s left: Senior officials in the Democrats party directed vendors who worked at their events to receive payment from a fund budgeted directly by the German government. Israeli law explicitly prohibits receiving donations and in-kind contributions from foreign sources—but the party and the leadership of the Jerusalem center are choosing to remain silent.
In recent weeks there’s been extensive focus on foreign influence in the elections, particularly from Middle Eastern countries. But it turns out there’s additional foreign influence from Europe—and it apparently violates Israeli law in a flagrant manner.
We’re revealing tonight that vendors who provided services to the Democrats party were directed by senior party officials to receive their payments from the Willy Brandt Center in Jerusalem. The center describes itself as German-Israeli-‘Palestinian’ and is close to the Democrats party.
But in practice, the organization that Democrats party officials directed vendors to for payment is an entity of the German foundation ZFD Forum, known in Hebrew as “The Forum for Civilian Service for Peace.” This is a German fund budgeted by the German government, which also funds that same German center in Jerusalem.
In other words, a fund financed by the German government paid for services and vendors on behalf of the Democrats party in Israel at the party’s campaign rallies. There’s an accumulation of apparent violations here: “prohibited donation” to a party, violations of election laws, and party financing laws.
And there’s intolerable chutzpah from German entities interfering in Israeli elections to benefit a left-wing party, in complete violation of the law. We reached out to all parties involved. The Democrats party refuses to comment. The Willy Brandt Center and its director, Moran Chen Shpitzer, did not provide a response, and the German fund also did not respond for publication.