Israeli
election outcome: hi-tech, start-up nation afflicted by “data entry
errors”
Cyber
warfare superpower, launching spacecraft to the moon, a day after the
election the Central Election Committee published voter turnouts of
over 100% in Jewish settlements in Palestine…
Keizler Inbar PR firm post, boasting the success of a secretive, “amazing logistic” operation, in collaboration with PM Netanyahu, in which cameras were illegally planted in Arab ballot stations, “preventing thousands of forgeries”, and suppressing voting rates below 50%. [i] During the April 9, 2019 election, Police was called to stop the illegal videotaping.
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Tel-Aviv,
April 11 – as part of Arab voter suppression efforts, Netanyahu’s
Likud party illegally hired some 1200 people to go with body cameras
to ballot stations in Arab population centers . Later, they took
pride in achieving their goal (uniquely low Arab voter turnout), and
justified it by claiming that Arabs were notorious for voter fraud.
[ii]
In
contrast, a the morning after election day, activists posted the
ballot station outcomes from the Central Election Committee web site,
showing voter turnout in Jewish settlements in Palestine, ranging
between 97 and 173% …
Activist post showing voter turnout in various Jewish settlements in Palestine – summary of data, published on line by the Central Election Committee.
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Activist post showing a screen print of data, published on line by the Central Election Committee web site, showing voter turnout in the Jewish settlement of Harish – 561%.
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In
response, later in the day, the Central Election Committee issued an
explanatory note to media: data entry errors… [iii]
Such
incidents are far from surprising. As soon as the 2019 election was
prematurely announced by Netanyahu, concerns were raised regarding
integrity of the Central Election Committee, particularly related to
its IT systems. [iv]
The
Central Election Committee, headed by Supreme Court justices, has a
checkered credibility record. Human Rights Alert, and Israeli NGO,
specializing in e-government monitoring and analysis has repeatedly
documented failures in IT systems of the Central Election Committee,
and lack of integrity in the Committee’s Freedom of Information
responses, pertaining to its IT systems.
Top:
March 11, 2019 FOIA request (03-2019), filed with the Central
Election Committee by Human Rights Alert – NGO, seeking
documentation of certification of the 2013 and 2015 general election
outcomes by Supreme Court Justice, who served as Committee Chairs.
Bottom: April 08, 2019 (a day prior to the general election)
note by the Committee, extending the lawful time for response by 30
days, due to “work overload”.
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*
Over a month ago, the Committee finally admitted in response to FOIA
requests, dragged for over a year, that it did not maintained signed
minutes of its Presidency and Plenary meetings, chaired by Supreme
Court justices. In contrast, the Committee did maintain lawfully
signed minutes for sub-committee meetings, chaired by other
officials, e.g., the Tender Committee and Tender Exception Committee.
In a follow-up FOIA request, the Committee was asked to provide
copies of any document, signed by then Committee Chairs, Supreme
Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, certifying the 2013 election
outcome, Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran, certifying the 2015
election outcome. The Committee issued an extension notice at the
end of the legally prescribed 30 day period, stating it could not
respond in time, due to work overload...
*
In a FOIA request over a year ago, the Committee was asked to provide
documentation of the person, who is authorized to certify the ballot
outcomes, published on line by the Committee. The Committee provided
a false response, where it attempted to misrepresent the process as
fully automated, no-human-hand involved. However, once the Committee
was presented with false on line ballot outcomes, similar to the ones
published yesterday, the Committee provided an “amended FOIA
response”, stating that someone “uploaded the wrong file”.
Regardless, the Committee continues to refuse to state the name of
the person, who is authorized to certify the data, published on line
by the Committee.
*
Over two years ago, FOIA request sought documentation of required
State employee certification of examination and validation of the
Committee’s IT systems. Then too, the Committee provided a false
response, claiming that the Shin-Bet (secret service) examined and
certified the systems. However, in an unusual move, the Shin-Bet
denied such false claims. Subsequently, the Committee provided an
“amended FOIA response”, stating that it had no certification by
a State employee of its IT systems. [v]
---
*
Other
FOIA responses established that the Committee had no certification of
compliance with the legally binding Israeli Security
Standard
for IT systems
of organizations. Likewise,
the Committee had no documentation of the appointment and job
description of Mr Lazar Dudovich, who
the Committee stated was its
IT Director, in charge of IT system development, implementation and
operation.
The
circumstances surrounding the Israeli Central Election Committee and
its IT systems are particularly bizarre, given that Israel is
self-advertised as a hi-tech, start-up nation, and cyber superpower.
[vi]
E.g., in what was exploited as part of Netanyahu’s election
propaganda, in February Israel launched a spacecraft to the moon. [vii]
In
recent years, PM Netanyahu has also developed a National Cyber
Security Array under his direct control in the PM office with no due
foundation in law. Such initiative is seen as an attempt to
neutralize the Shin-Bet, which is charged by law with “securing
procedures and institutions of the democratic regime”. The
initiative was protested as “an undemocratic measure”. In recent
years, PM Netanyahu has also established and has been directly
funding Cyber Security Research Centers in computer science
departments of all major Israeli universities. [viii]
Consequently, it has become exceedingly difficult to elicit expert
academic opinions regarding Israeli e-government systems and cyber
security issues. [ix]
The
Human Rights Alert submission for the UN Human Rights Council 2018
Periodic Review of Israel focused on fraud in e-government systems,
particularly in law and justice agencies. [x]
The submission was incorporated into the final report of the UN High
Commissioner of Human Rights with the note: [xi]
24.
HRA-NGO highlighted the serious deterioration in integrity of law and
justice agencies as a consequence of the implementation of
e-government systems. It affirmed that the validity and integrity of
any legal and judicial records of Israel should be deemed dubious at
best.
In
short: the State of Israel provides a unique example of the
principle, stated by Harvard law professor Larry Lessig, “Code is
Law”, and the consequences of implementing invalid or fraudulent
e-government systems. [xii]
LINKS
iKaizler-Inbar
PR firm April 10, 2019 Facebook post
ii PR Firm Behind Likud's Hidden Cameras in Arab Polling Sites Boasts of Lowering Voter Turnout | Haaretz
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-pr-firm-behind-likud-s-hidden-cameras-in-arab-poll-sites-boasts-of-lowering-turnout-1.7108972
iii
Unusual voting data in part of the ballot stations; Central Election
Committee: We erroneously entered 2015 data | Haaretz
ivSerious
concerns regarding integrity of the Israeli Central Election
Committee | OpEdNews.com
v Computer
fraud in the 2015 election in Israel? Shin-Bet Head Nadav Argaman is
asked to clarify | OpEdNews.com
Shin-Bet
implicates the Central Election Committee in serious computer fraud
| OpEdNews.com
vi The
Best Tech School On Earth Is Israeli Army Unit 8200 | Business
Insider
Inside Israel's Secret Startup Machine | Forbes
vii BERESHEET: Launching the First Israeli Spacecraft to the Moon | Israel Space Agency
viii ISRAEL: Computer election fraud in the only digital banana republic in the middle-east? | OpEdNews.com
https://www.opednews.com/articles/ISRAEL-Computer-election-by-Joseph-Zernik-Election-Fraud_Israel-160928-162.html
ixISRAEL:
Who is the Shin Bet loyal to?
|
OpEdNews.com
xWidespread
corruption of the Israeli courts alleged in reports filed with UN
Human Rights Council
|
OpEdNews.com
2017-06-29
Human Right Alert: SUBMISSION: State of Israel HRC UPR (2018) -
Incompetence and/or corruption of the courts and the legal
profession, and discrimination by law enforcement in Israel
2017-06-29
Human Right Alert: ANNEX to Submission: State of Israel HRC UPR
(2018) - Incompetence and/or corruption of the courts and the legal
profession, and discrimination by law enforcement in Israel
xi
Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human
Rights: Summary of Stakeholders’ submissions on Israel (2018)
xii Code
is Law | Larry Lessig
