Memo Reveals Plan of U.S.-Funded Groups to Influence the Israeli Elections
Nonprofits targeting populations, such as Arab Israelis, opposed to Likud
BY: Alana Goodman - The Free Beacon February 5, 2015 3:30 pm
http://freebeacon.com/issues/u-s-groups-funding-liberal-gotv-effort-in-israel/
[For copy of the memo:
http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/APDF-GOTV-Arab-Community-MK-12-17-14.docx1-1.pdf
http://bit.ly/1DMu8RV
http://bit.ly/1AzUEzP
http://bit.ly/1FebGCF
http://bit.ly/1zo2zOR ]

A coalition of U.S.-funded progressive groups has planned a massive
get-out-the-vote effort to influence the Israeli elections, targeting
communities that are most likely to vote against Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and his right-leaning Likud Party, according to a confidential
strategy memo obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The U.S.-based 501(c)(3) group Ameinu sent out the fundraising proposal for
the campaign to American donors on Dec. 17, 2014.

The $3 million initiative is described in the document as “a massive,
non-partisan Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign targeting selected demographic
and geographic segments of Israeli society.”

The targeted groups listed in the memo—young secular Israelis, low-income
secular Jews, and Arab Israelis—are communities that traditionally oppose
right-leaning parties such as Likud.

The Arab Israeli community in particular is expected to play a larger role
than usual in Israel’s March elections. The four major parties that
represent Arab Israelis merged in January, a move that could make it easier
for the left-leaning Labor Party to form a government.

American involvement in the Israeli elections came under scrutiny last week,
after it was reported that the U.S. group OneVoice and Obama’s 2012
reelection team were assisting the V15 campaign to oust Netanyahu. OneVoice
said its involvement is nonpartisan and that it is solely trying to increase
voter participation.

However, the fundraising proposal by Ameinu indicates that the effort
extends far beyond V15 and OneVoice.

The Ameinu memo noted that it is in contact with experts from Obama’s
reelection team, which was involved in “similar” operations.

“We are already in touch with a highly talented combination of knowledgeable
Israeli professionals and American experts with experience in similar recent
operations, including the Obama presidential campaign,” said the proposal.

The campaign would include bi-weekly polling, messaging, an advertising
effort, grassroots outreach, and an operation to bring targeted voters to
the polls on Election Day.

The Israeli group Givat Haviva, which has received State Department funding,
was tapped to lead the get-out-the-vote effort in the Arab Israeli
community, according to the memo.

The groups planned to conduct an initial survey of 1,000 participants in the
Arab Israeli community to help guide voter outreach strategy.

The proposed poll included questions such as “Whom would you vote for?”
“Where do you receive information that serves you to form an opinion?” and
“Whom do you trust as a guide in your voting decision?”

The information from the poll would be used to launch a $350,000 media
effort and a $1 million advertising campaign, according to the proposal.

Another $1 million would go toward a “Leave No Voter Behind” operation,
which would help transport targeted voters to the polls and deploy
“influencers” to get the community out on Election Day.

The memo stressed the urgency of securing funding in a timely manner and
indicated that the plan would be put into place immediately.

“As of the writing of this document on December 17, there are only 91 days
until the election,” said the document. “We need to raise the necessary
funds immediately to allow the operations to get established in order to
maximize the remaining time until voting day.”

Ameinu president Kenneth Bob told the Free Beacon that his group was
involved in sending out appeals to U.S. donors regarding the initiative, and
he said on-the-ground efforts began in mid-January. He called the
fundraising memo an “overview document” and said there have been other
drafts since December, when Bob emailed it out to donors.

He stressed that the campaign was nonpartisan.

“I’m sure you know that in the Arab sector, the Likud also gets votes, they
have strong pockets of support,” said Bob. “I’m very comfortable with this
as a nonpartisan effort.”

Bob initially told the Free Beacon that the initiative outlined in the memo
had no connection to the V15 campaign or former Obama aide Jeremy Bird.

He later said that V15 and Bird’s consulting group 270 Strategies were
involved in the discussions early on, but have since parted ways with
Ameinu.

“When we first began soliciting funds for GOTV efforts ahead of the Israeli
elections, we spoke to a number of entities with projects in mind, including
Strategies 270, which ultimately became V15,” said Bob.

“In January when we finalized our plans, Ameinu decided to limit itself to
the Arab Community GOTV effort. That is why I so emphatically said to you
that the Arab GOTV effort has nothing to do with V15 or Strategies 270.”

Bob said multiple groups, including Givat Haviva, were involved in the
get-out-the-vote effort.

On Wednesday, Givat Haviva brought a delegation of over two-dozen Arab
Israeli mayors to the United States, where they will be meeting with top
Democrats and U.S. Jewish and Arab groups and learning political organizing
techniques in New York and Washington, D.C.

Last Thursday, the mayoral delegation and organizers met with high-level
American officials at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to discuss their plans
for the trip.