Part Three: My Ballot
Today is election day throughout Israel, and alas non-citizen Israeli political junkies do not actually get to vote. Here’s a quick summary of what I’d do with my very own ballot.
The Little Fish
First things, first – there’s simply no way I would vote for a party that might not even pass the threshold, which in Israel is a ridiculously low 1.5% of the electorate. If I wanted to throw my vote away, I’d move to D.C. I’ll break them down accordingly:
Those with no chance, that I’ve never heard of: Ahavat Yisrael, Citizen and State, Lahava, Leeder, Organization for Democratic Action, Progressive National Alliance, and Za’am.
Those with no chance, that I’ve heard of: Center (what’s left of it after all but one MK jumped to Shinui and Likud), Gesher, Greens, Ra’ash (Men’s Rights in Family – not making that one up), Tzomet, and Another Israel (A new generation of Israeli leaders – with no followers).
Those with a chance: Green Leaf (endorsed by High Times Magazine), Herut (right-wing fanatics who could use a little green leaf to chill out).
The Longshots
United Arab List & Balad (1999: 7, Projected 6-8)
Why: The yawning gap in services between the Jewish and Arab sectors
Why Not: Seem more interested in the well being of Assad, Hezbollah and Arafat than their own voters.
Hadash (1999:3, Projected 2-3)
Why: A joint Arab-Jewish list!!!
Why Not: Communism (see failed experiments throughout world 1917-1989)
National Unity (1999:8, Projected 8-10)
Why: They have a clear plan for how Israel should resolve the Palestinian conflict
Why Not: It bears a striking similarity to Milosevic's plan to resolve the Kosovo conflict
Torah and Shabbat Judaism (1999: 5, Projected 4-5)
Why: I’m a big fan of Torah and Shabbat
Why Not: Not as they practice it (e.g. pelting egalitarian services with stones)
Shas (1999: 17; Projected 10-13)
Why: While I’m not a traditional Sephardi immigrant – I feel their pain
Why Not: Would you want a party that combined the worst of Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson controlling a fifth of your government?
One Nation (1999: 2; Projected 2-3)
Why: They stand up for the working man in an increasingly global Israeli economy
Why Not: Israel’s unions are so strong that one of things I was taught in Ulpan was the word for strike (shvita).
National Religious Party (1999:5; Projected 4-5)
Why: Their great heritage as a bridge between secular Zionists and religious Jews
Why Not: A large portion of their voters have been suffering from Jerusalem Syndrome since around 1967.
Meretz (1999:9; Projected 7-10)
Why: A deep commitment to environmental protection, education reform, and rights for ethnic and religious minorities (including liberal Judaism)
Why Not: Israel happens to be in the Middle East, not Europe or North America. The dovish Meretzniks seem to be in denial about this fact (or like Yossi Beillin too smart to comprehend the self-destructive behavior of the PA after Oslo).
The Contenders
Labor (1999:26; Projected 18-20)
Why: They built the country. For years, they produced pragmatic leaders such as Ben Gurion, Eshkol, Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin that combined vigilance with openness towards peace.
Why Not: They're led by Amnon Mitzna - who has come out 1) in favor of negotiating with Arafat, and 2) against sitting in a national unity government. This is not a responsible way for Labor to help clean up the Oslo mess they made.
Likud (1999:19; Projected 30-33)
Why: Sharon managed to stamp down the Palestinian offensive while maintaining national unity and Israel’s relationship with the U.S.
Why Not: Only Sharon knows what Sharon’s long-term plan is. An unwillingness to distinguish the Gaza settlements from Greater Jerusalem, or halt the expansion of settlements is disconcerting. Sharon will take only as many “painful steps” as the rest of his coalition forces him to take.
Shinui (1999:6; Projected 13-16)
Why: For years, Ultra-Orthodox parties have played the two major parties against each other to obtain a stranglehold of the issues of personal status, squeeze the Israeli budget dry to subsidize their yeshiva-schnorr lifestyle, and promote their fundamentalist version of Judaism. Shinui is the first party take on that challenge directly, by offering itself as an alternate swing party. They also happen to fallen into the sensible center on security issues, almost by default.
Why Not: Their anti-Orthodox rhetoric often crosses the line to blackhataphobia.
Yisrael B’Aliyah (1999:6; Projected: 3-6)
Why Not: I’m contributing to the chaos of Israel politics by strengthening a small party.
Why: With Sharon a lock to repeat as prime minister, I have the luxury of not having to vote for the big party I dislike the least. Quite simply, I believe Israel benefits tremendously from having Natan Sharansky in the cabinet. He was the first major politician to realize the futility of negotiating with an autocratic Palestinian partner. His party seeks to restore secular-religious balance without divisive rhetoric. I’m a softy for ex-refusniks.
So if you see Natan, tell him I would have voted for him – if I could have voted.
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