‘Anti-Semitic video’ sparks furor in local Israeli elections

In what is being termed an “anti-Semitic video,” a candidate for local city elections in Ashdod posted a campaign video imagining what life would be like if ultra-Orthodox ran the city.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A candidate for the municipal council in Ashdod created a furor after posting to Facebook what he described as a “satiric” video on Monday imagining life in the city should the ultra-Orthodox win local elections in three weeks.

Local religious figures call the 4-minute video outright anti-Semitic.

The video follows the misadventures of a secular Russian family on the Sabbath, which finds life severely curtailed on the Jewish day of rest.  The father is forced to pay an exorbitant fine for using the Lord’s name in vain after his cell phone service is cut off due to the Jewish day of rest. His son, ready to watch a football match, discovers the TV signal is out. After further such scenarios, the video ends with a plea by Eli Nacht, founder of the Atid Ashdod party, to Ashdod voters to go to the polls on October 30.

Strong reactions to the video came from local politicians, religious activists and media pundits.

Ashdod Mayor Yechiel Lasry said, “we will not give over the running of the city to inciters, and irresponsible people who instigate hatred and civil wars. Not on my watch.”

Municipal Rabbi Yosef Zeini told the religious Serugim news site that since the ultra-Orthodox have been a presence in the city for 50 years and “we have yet to see those who are called ‘secular’ participating in a daily Talmud class,” this was simply an example of terrible fear-mongering.

Local ultra-Orthodox activist Shneur Elmaliach went even further when speaking to Mako TV. “The video is explicitly inciting against the ultra-Orthodox community,” he charged. “Imagine if I would make a film about Russians, showing them as pigs who want to take control of Ashdod. There would have been a holy riot in the city, they would have attacked me — and rightly so.”

Nacht, who has worked for the municipality in various roles, including deputy director of its Anti-Drug and Alcohol Addiction Authority and chairman of its Oversight Committee, defended his post.

“The biggest problem we have in Ashdod – and the country in general – is that the secular residents don’t go out to vote. You see this in election results and the doubled and redoubled representation of the ultra-Orthodox sector in local authorities as well as the Knesset. Our goal is to rouse people from their apathy and motivate them to act. All in all, this is a satirical video with a clear and sharp message that has a basis in reality.”

Nacht immigrated to Israel as a child from the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States and is the owner of his own law firm. He has helped organize the Russian vote in Ashdod for various elections, first for the Russian-dominated Israel Beytenu party, and most recently for the staunchly secular Yesh Atid.

He is also the founder and chairman of the board of the Israel Empowerment Lobby, whose stated goal is to “promote better understanding between Judaism and Christianity” by building ties between Israelis, Christian business people and political leaders from around the world to help the Israeli economy.