UPCOMING ISRAELI ELECTIONS: THE RUNDOWN

The Israeli elections are coming up on January 22, and the 37 “lists” competing run the gamut from communist, pro-marijuana, pirate (yes, pirate), and anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox to green, nationalistic, and anti-Zionist Arab.  Other than the fact that they are both democratic and the fact that the voters complain about their choices, there is little in common between the American presidential and the Israeli parliamentary elections. 

Although the media might focus on the personalities of those at the head of a party, Israelis do not elect a prime minister.  Each party assembles its “list” of candidates.  Because the number of seats a party gets in the 120-member Knesset reflects the percentage of votes the party receives out of the total votes cast, the higher one is on the list, the more likely the candidate is to get a seat in the Knesset.  A candidate’s place on the list is decided either in a party primary, by a party committee, or by the leader of the party.  The fighting for position is intense. 

 

When an Israeli voter enters the voting booth, he or she does not see a list of the candidates.  Usually the voter sees the name of the parties and the name of the leader of each party.  The voter votes for the party.  Unique among democracies, Israel has no districts. Each person on the list who becomes a Knesset member represents the whole of Israel.  The threshold for a Knesset seat is only two percent of the vote, so virtually anyone can, and many often do, form their own party and win a few seats.

 

The leader of the party that receives the most votes does not necessarily become the Prime Minister.  In recent years no party has received the 61 votes to rule on its own and to decide who will be Prime Minister.  They have had to form coalitions.  For example, in the last election Kadima leader Tzipi Livni received one more vote than Likud leader Bibi Netanyahu.  However, Netanyahu was able to put together a coalition with other parties to form a majority of the Knesset and to become the Prime Minister.

 

Here is a rundown of the major parties contesting the current election and the likely, but in no way certain, results:

TRAGIC COMEDY, PALESTINIAN-STYLE

(Originally published in The Times of Israel)

The situation would be comic if it wasn’t all so hopeless and tragic. You’ve got a statehood bid by an entity that has two sub-entities. One is controlled by a terrorist group, Hamas, sworn to the destruction of Israel and the elimination of Jews. (Read its charter if you want a nightmare.)

Hamas claims it cannot control even more extreme groups in its midst. It is an oppressive, undemocratic, and increasingly corrupt regime. Its leadership is split over the statehood bid: one leader asserts that Abbas should be prosecuted as a traitor if he ever sets foot in Gaza, while the other says he supports the bid as long as it does nothing to limit the right of the“resistance” to continue to try to eliminate Israel and does not infringe on the “right” of the descendents of people who previously lived in Israel to“return” to a country they never lived in.

The other sub-entity is headed by President Abbas, who is spearheading the UN bid. That entity is thoroughly corrupt, undemocratic, and often oppressive. The President is in his seventh or eight year of a four year term. His sons are millionaires as a result of his “service.” Virtually no one respects him. He was irrelevant in the latest war that half of his proposed nation engaged in and in the negotiations that led to the ceasefire.

President Abbas has refused to negotiate for four years, despite Prime Minister Netanyahu’s declaration of support for a two-state solution, an unprecedented nine month halt in settlement construction , and other quiet concessions and gestures, and despite continued requests by the Obama Administration, which is at least partly to blame for him not being willing to negotiate .

MY FIRST WAR: PART II: BUS BOMBING, THANKSGIVING, BODY COUNTS, AND VISITS

A friend of one of our sons just posted:  "The ground war has begun--in central Tel Aviv."

A bomb went off on a bus in a crowded Tel Aviv area about an hour and 45 minutes ago.  First reports are 15 injured, four seriously.

Hamas said it would start suicide bombers again. Not sure if this was one, or if someone left it on the bus. But it makes no difference.  It is still reprehensible. There are no military targets in this area.  Just lots of people from the surrounding office buildings and restaurants. 

The bomb went off on the bus as it stopped right next to a building that houses an art gallery where a friend of our daughter works.  She can look out the window and see the carnage if she were to want to do so. 

The world condemns Israel for accidently hitting civilians who are living amongst the Hamas' rockets and arms.  But the world has been silent for months and years while Hamas and its allies deliberately target civilians.  Where are the UN resolutions?

We are planning a Thanksgiving dinner for tomorrow. It is fun and meaningful to celebrate Thanksgiving--the quiessential American holiday--while abroad.  Per our usual practice, we will have friends of our kids and assorted other young Americans here on study programs or living here without their parents.

Jeremey Ben-Ami: Hubris of an Oracle

 I am often amazed at the contradictions and the hubris demonstrated by self-described lovers of Israel who criticize it and lobby the American administration to pressure it for its ostensible good. The two of the most prominent such loving critics are Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street and the writer Peter Beinart.

Ben-Ami and Beinart mourn the supposed demise of Israeli democracy, and then constantly implore American Jews to lobby Washington to counter the policies of the leaders elected by the democratic process in Israel. They profess their respect and love for Israelis, but then self-assuredly assert, from the comfort of their offices and lecterns in America, that they know better than Israelis what is good for their nation and the future of their children.

Messieurs Ben-Ami and Beinart remind me of what my father used to say to me: "I only hope that when you grow up you know half as much as you now think you do."

While I have generally come to the conclusion that Ben-Ami and Beinart are not particularly serious thinkers, and that they both thrash around in an effort to stay "relevant" and prominent and, in Ben-Ami's case, to keep the membership involved, they do have the potential to misrepresent and to mislead otherwise well-intentioned people.

Mr. Ben-Ami's latest letter to his membership is so far afield for one who professes to be pro-Israel that, despite my general feeling that he is becoming increasingly irrelevant and discredited, it got my blood boiling.

MY FIRST WAR: REGRETS AND OBSERVATIONS

The outpouring of concern and support we have received since I posted on Facebook and e-mailed my brief message about our first (and hopefully only) experience with a red alert and taking cover has been heartwarming. Thanks to everyone. It does mean a lot.

The experience was disconcerting but we are doing fine. Things are calm in Jerusalem now, while Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Ashqelon, and a couple of other cities have been targeted by rockets today. You do listen up a bit when you hear a siren or another loud noise. We went out to the open-air Mamilla Mall last night (Saturday) and while it was not quite as crowded as usual, there were plenty of people, including tourists, out enjoying themselves.

Of course, we did note where we would go if the sirens went off. In fact, we decided that the parking garage was a lot better bet than our apartment staircase. Newer Israeli homes and apartments are all required to have safe rooms, rooms that are reinforced and that have one window that can be shut airtight.

Older apartment buildings have basement shelters, where all of the residents can take cover, once they have been cleared out of all the old stuff that has been stored in them for years. Our apartment, which is even older, has nothing, so we are left with the choice of sprinting toward a public shelter a few hundred meters away or taking refuge in the stairwell, which we are told is the safest place in the building because of the number of walls between us and the outside of the building.

IS THE SHIP REALLY SINKING?

 

Dear Members of Israel Peace Alternatives and Guests:

I noted that my old friend Hillel Damron will be speaking to you on November 29th about the “survival of democracy” in Israel, the “fading dream” of the two-state solution, and the “Jewish Holy War” involving “Price Tags.”

I have known Hillel for many years and have great respect for him and his service to Israel.  My daughter and his son were good friends when they were growing up in Sacramento. 

Like Americans who love and are concerned about the U.S., Hillel can be quite critical of Israel.  As he has said to me, it has been quite a long time since he lived in Israel and, to his regret, he does not get to go back home often. 

 

I am a more recent citizen of Israel and I live here about seven months a year.  I am at my apartment in Jerusalem now, just as Jerusalemites are opening their homes so that the million-plus Israeli civilians who are the target of rockets from Gaza can come and hopefully get a peaceful night’s rest. 

 

Like Hillel, I am sometimes critical of Israel.  As in every country, there is plenty of room for improvement.  However, as someone who lives in Israel a good part of the year now but who is not a native Israeli, I think I can provide a little different perspective than Hillel. 

 

My main concern is that Hillel, as a native Israeli, may, just like Americans who argue about the U.S., not give the context and perspective that should accompany his criticisms.  I would like to provide some of that. 

 

The “survival of democracy” in Israel implies that there is a question about whether Israel’s democracy will survive. 

 

BOCCE BALL, RICHARD RODRIGUEZ, AND THE NATION-STATE

                        　

　
(Originally published in The Times of Israel)
　

My wife and I just returned to Israel from a wonderful eight days in Italy. Tuscany, to be exact. Three nights in Florence, three in Sienna, and two in Lucca. Beautiful. Great food and wine and olive oil, tremendous scenery, terrific history and architecture, nice people, and charm, charm, charm.

Even the driving was hassle-free, despite Italy’s reputation for horrific traffic and terrible driving habits. Granted, we were not in Rome or other major urban centers, but we did hit some traffic and traveled on the audostrada without problems.

Exception: finding the rental car return at the Florence Airport. Signs that require microscopic equipment and arrows that require inspired interpretation. I needed three times around the circuit to finally get it right.

But other than the car rental return, all was smooth. My nomination for the greatest invention by humankind since the last great invention by humankind: GPS. A godsend.

One cloud over an otherwise terrific trip: Every young, college-educated person we met, whether Italian or another European nationality, told us that finding a job at or near a level commensurate with their education was very difficult or impossible.

We spoke with impressive young people who had moved across borders in a futile search for meaningful employment. No luck. The European Union takes well-deserved pride in creating open borders. I doubt that the idea was to create more cross-national opportunities to be told No Work Today.

Anyone who has traveled to Tuscany can attest to the richness of life in its many small hill towns. There is one beautiful square after impressive church after quaint tower after beautiful woman on a bike after charming trattoria after. . . Well, you get the picture. In fact, one cannot stop taking pictures.

The richness of Italian life, and the zeal with which the Italians still seem to enjoy it, got me thinking about what immigrants to the U.S. have given up in exchange for the wonderful freedom and economic opportunities America offered. 

As each generation goes by, Americans descended from immigrants lose a little bit more of the habits and traits and traditions that were characteristic of their immigrant ancestors.   Grandpa's accent, Grandma's boiled chicken, Yiddish papers on the kitchen table.  I remember them.  My children don't.

The great welcome that America gave the immigrant--and the opportunity to move into the mainstream and achieve “success"--security, acceptance, the large home in the suburbs--extracted a price.  The more a descendant of immigrants moved into the mainstream and away--in distance and time--from the immigrant experience, the more he or she shed the characteristics that made the immigrant experience unique. 

The more a child moved into the mainstream and achieved success, the more the child lost the sense of  belonging to and comfort with the immigrant community. For many it was a price well worth paying, but it was a price.

The author Richard Rodriguez, who grew up a few miles and a few years before me in East Sacramento, wrote in his book, Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, of the bittersweet experience of moving into and up in mainstream American society while feeling estranged from and sometimes embarrassed by his parents' immigrant roots. 

Rodriguez loved his family and his heritage, but he felt the need to unshackle himself from some of his ties in order to fully take advantage of America's opportunities.  His struggle with himself and his community over the unshackling is poignant and enlightening.  While the book was written a generation ago, it still rings true. 

I remember East Sacramento from my childhood. You still could hear lots of older immigrants with Italian accents. There was an Italian flavor in many of the shops. Quality Market and Corti Brothers Market smelled and looked a lot like the markets in the Tuscany towns we visited. And the old gents gathered in Portal Park to play bocce ball.

The accents are gone now, as is Quality Market. Corti Brothers is still hanging in there, but on most days there are a lot more cars in Trader Joe's parking lot a few doors down. The bocce ball courts are still there. In fact, they have a sign heralding the hosting of some significant championships. But I am not sure that it is Italians playing.

The neighborhood is the hope of America--it’s “diverse.” That’s a good thing. But it isn’t the rich life it once was.

Daniel Gordis, in his recent book, The Promise of Israel, Why Its Seemingly Greatest Weakness Is Actually Its Greatest Strength, attributes a good part of the animosity toward Israel to its conscious purpose to re-create the Jewish State--a nation-state--for the very purpose of congealing, enriching, and preserving the Jewish people.  In short, we've recreated the neighborhood.

A lot of folks came back to Israel so that they could live fully as themselves in the only place one can truly do that--their home--and in the only environment one can do it in--in freedom.   In Israel the days turn on the Jewish calendar, the debates invoke Jewish teachings, and the children shout in their historical language.  Just like in the old neighborhood.

But timing is everything. And, as Gordis argues, the Jews are getting themselves back together and preserving and enriching their life as a people just when a lot of the world, and particularly the intellectuals of Europe, have decided that nation-states are, to put it politely, no longer fashionable. When it comes to the Jewish nation-state, they are often just downright hostile. 

Gordis argues that the nation-state dedicated to preserving a people’s heritage and way of life is a good thing. Indeed, he argues that preserving differences is a key to maintaining and spreading freedom. 

One can appreciate and embrace the wonderful freedoms and opportunities that America’s melting pot gave millions of immigrants and their descendants while also appreciating and encouraging the specialness and richness that were part of the old neighborhood and that are preserved and continued in the nation-state.  One model does not preclude the other.  Indeed, one could argue that the world is a better place for having both. 
                                                                                                        
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Election note: I was in Istanbul for five days a week or two before the 2008 presidential election. Everyone--Turks and visitors alike--wanted to talk and get our opinions about the upcoming election. Would America really elect a black man President? Was he a Muslim? How could McCain select Palin? Could she become President some day? 

Four years later in Italy:  In eight days just one person mentioned the election to me.