Jewish Home’s Tu Bishvat gifts banned

A Jerusalem resident filed a petition against the Jewish Home party on Wednesday, arguing that the activists’ distribution of dried fruit in honor of the Tu Bishvat holiday violated election protocol.

Rami Cohen lodged the complaint with the Central Elections Committee, prompting the legal body to order the right-wing party to respond to the allegations by 10 a.m. and issuing a temporary injunction against the fruit-giving.

Cohen argued that the traditional fare, distributed by party activists, constituted a breach in the campaigning guidelines which oppose giving out food or drink items or offering gifts of any kind to potential voters.

The Jewish Home party is not the only one incorporating food items into its campaign.

On Tuesday, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party distributed some 2,000 pita breads in Tel Aviv branded with the words “Lapid worries about sushi, we worry about bread,” in a jab at Yesh Atid’s focus on the middle class, rather than the lower socioeconomic classes.

However, no legal complaints have been filed against Shas for its food distribution.

Tu Bishvat, the Jewish version of Arbor day, celebrates the natural world’s new year and is traditionally marked by eating dried fruit, a tradition brought over from Europe’s colder climes.