Lawmakers from both sides of the political divide signed a pact on Monday to avoid nasty campaign tactics.
The Election Integrity Pact was drafted by Tzohar, an organization of Israeli national-religious rabbis who want to modernize Jewish traditions and find common ground between secular and religious Israelis.
The pact stipulates that the election campaign will be "run in a fair and nonviolent manner in pursuit of the general good, in accordance with the political outlook of each party."
The agreement stresses that "the other side's viewpoints, however wrong they may be, shall not be distorted."
The signatories also pledged to "avoid humiliating and distorting statements against parties and political figures, as well as avoid baseless accusations."
The pact also makes candidates' relatives off-limits, unless the candidates themselves feature relatives in their campaigns. The signatories also pledged to make promises that "they assess to be implementable."
Lawmakers who have promised to uphold campaign decency include coalition chairman MK David Amsalem (Likud), Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (the New Right), MK Orly Levy-Abekasis (Gesher), Labor Party Chairman Avi Gabbay and Israel Resilience Party Chairman Benny Gantz.
"Engaging in a respectful discourse is paramount," Tzohar said in a statement.
"Making libelous statements is always wrong, but during election campaigns the dam often bursts, and we must be extra careful. After the election we should build a robust Israeli society rather than divide it. We are glad that many prominent lawmakers have heeded our call and signed the pact," Tzohar said.
