Some of Israel's most prominent organized crime figures revealed their political preferences on Wednesday, including supporters of Israel's two main Arab parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, as well as left-wing politician Yair Golan, Walla learned from sources close to the figures.
Throughout the year, they keep the police, the State Attorney's Office, and the courts busy. Yet on election day, even well-known figures from Israel's criminal underworld turn their attention to the question occupying the country: Who will sit in the next Knesset?
Behind the names associated with organized crime syndicates lie political preferences, and not all of them are predictable. Some are particularly surprising.
In conversations with Walla on Wednesday, associates of figures linked to the criminal underworld revealed where their political sympathies lie.
Sources close to the Jarushi family, associated with one of Israel's most prominent crime organizations, indicated support for Ra'am and the Joint List.
Perhaps even more intriguing is the case of Eitan Hiya. According to his associates, his political preference is none other than Yair Golan, one of the most prominent figures on the Israeli political Left.
It is a political alignment that might not be expected, but it sheds light on the complex range of political preferences within the criminal underworld.
There is no single, unified political camp or shared position. Moreover, affiliation with a particular crime organization or family does not necessarily mean its members vote the same way.
It is important to note that the information about these political preferences comes from associates of the individuals involved and does not verify the ballots they actually cast.
There is an interesting paradox at the heart of this story. On the one hand, law enforcement authorities combat criminal organizations and seek to restrict their activities. On the other, individuals associated with these organizations, provided they retain the right to vote, can participate in the democratic process and influence the composition of the Knesset.
That same Knesset is responsible, among other things, for determining the legal tools available to the state in its fight against organized crime.
Nearly 89% voter turnout among eligible prisoners
Voting also took place in Israel's prisons on Wednesday.
Polling stations at all detention facilities closed at 8 p.m., with the Israel Prison Service reporting an 88.7% voter turnout among eligible prisoners and detainees.
According to figures from the Israel Prison Service (IPS) Operations Division, voting was coordinated with the Central Elections Committee following operational preparations led by IPS Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi.
Judges and official observers visited detention facilities throughout the day, while voting was conducted by secret ballot under strict security and public order measures.
The voting took place against the backdrop of the state's ongoing struggle against organized crime.
The Law for the Protection of the Public from Criminal Organizations, which came into effect at the end of 2024, allows courts to impose restrictions on individuals operating within criminal organizations, even without a formal indictment, provided the strict legal conditions are met.
Among other measures, courts may order individuals to stay away from certain areas, confine them to their homes, prohibit contact with specified individuals, and impose additional restrictions.
The law gives law enforcement authorities tools to prevent serious harm to public safety, including in circumstances where that objective cannot be achieved through criminal proceedings, while seeking to minimize infringements on individual rights.
Yet there is one right that association with the criminal underworld does not, in itself, take away: the right to vote.
While the state seeks to keep criminal organizations away from centers of power, a ballot cast by someone associated with such groups carries exactly the same weight as that of any other eligible citizen.
That is perhaps the great irony of election day.
The police may monitor criminal organizations, the State Attorney's Office may seek to restrict their activities, and the courts may issue orders against their members. But behind the voting booth curtain, as long as the right to vote remains intact, there is no distinction between the investigator and the person under investigation.
Both cast their ballots for the same Knesset.