The haredi-religious Shas Party has criticized Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit's opinion that the Central Elections Committee must ban a Shas election ad that promises a letter in a Torah scroll.
A statement by the party said, "It is regrettable to discover that writing a letter in a Torah scroll in the name of a person is perceived as 'bribery in elections'. Shas is proud of Operation Yosef Aleichem, which operates under the orders of Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt"l to add more and more supporters to the Shas movement in a symbolic manner of real connection to Torah and Jewish tradition. The Shas movement will continue to act to preserve the Jewish tradition in the country."