Many Israelis are boycotting Mifal Hapayis (State sanctioned Lottery) for funding a movie glorifying Leah Tsemel, a Lawyer who Defends Terrorists. A wave of subscription cancellations began last night when a protest took place outside the company’s headquarters. The pro-Israel Im Tirzu organization publicized the rally against the Lotto providers on social media. This led to a massive wave of cancellations throughout Israel. See the confrontation outside the company’s headquarters below:
Those who cancelled subscriptions include bereaved parents who lost their loved ones in terrorist attacks and business owners who provided dozens of monthly tickets to their employees. Zvi David, the father of Kati David Z”L who was murdered in a terrorist attack (whose perpetrator was defended by Tsemel) called the Lotto company telling them that he was offended and that he would boycott them.
Another business owner announced that he was canceling 72 subscriptions for his employees and will replace the employee benefit with another gift. Ron Karmi Buzaglo, a prominent Israeli conservative social media influencer, made a Facebook video lambasting the lotto ticket providers while cutting a lottery ticket. This spread the message far and wide about the boycott online.
Mifal Hapayis responded to the boycott with a statement saying “Mifal Hapayis is the most significant organization in terms of supporting and encouraging culture, art and creativity in Israel. Among other things, Mifal Hapayis finances the Ophir Prize, the Sapir Prize, the Landau Prize and the first prize at Docaviv. They all have one thing in common and that is that all of them, without exception,utilize independent committees to determine the ranking of the projects and select the winners. “
Source: Israel in the News
