I am one of the twenty percent of voters who is still undecided. In my case, the indecision is not in regard to the two major political parties or blocs, but within the right-wing bloc. The choice for me is whether to choose Likud, which everyone agrees will form the next government, or one of the smaller parties from the right.
My natural instinct would be to choose the Likud. This is the party that will lead the nation, and I would like to see it have the broadest support possible. But the Likud has disappointed in many ways. I am deeply troubled by the prime minister?s declared support for a Palestinian state, as I believe any Palestinian state would be a great existential threat to Israel. True, he says it will be demilitarized, and not have control over its own border, and not be able to make military alliances with other states. But everyone else in the world, including the Americans, when they speak of a Palestinian state, do not mean what Sharon does. And I believe Israel cannot afford the kind of ?constructive ambiguity? that a wily politician might employ to bring into being an entity that would endanger Israel.
There are other objections to the Likud. The corruption in selecting candidates is one side of it. But there is, too, the whole impression given by the party that it is a group of people eager to be on the take and not to give to the country. The spirit of Menachem Begin , and even of Benny Begin, seems long gone from the Likud. Along with this is the sense that the country is being run like a little family store, especially in regard to the prime minister and his son, Omri. It seems that the choice of Likud is the choice of mediocrity and favoritism. And, of course, the only real reason to choose them is so that, God forbid, those who brought us the disaster of Oslo will not bring us even greater disasters.
Yet, what are the alternatives to the Likud ? The National Union often speaks a harsh truth that the Likud tries to obscure. But it cannot get my vote, because it is far too insular and historically self?righteous. After all, we might not even have had these elections had they been able to think practically and enter the Sharon government. It was also the self- righteous right that brought down the government of Yitzchak Shamir and brought the Yitzchak Rabin/Oslo government into power. They also brought down Binyamin Netanyahu and made Ehud Barak?s election possible.
More substantially, the ?transfer? program is a non-starter with the rest of the world. It is the program that, if attempted, would turn Israel into a pariah state. I know we are a people who dwells alone, but in a world in which there are so many enemies and so much danger, a world in which Israel is so hated even only half a century after the Shoah, we cannot afford to make it so easy for our enemies. We have to fight to keep our friends, and above all, our friend the United States, on our side. And this, of course, is one accomplishment that Sharon and the Likud has, to this point, managed to achieve.
Another possible choice for me is the Yisrael B?Aliyah party. I have greater respect for Natan Sharansky than for any other Israeli politician. He is one of the truly great Jewish heroes of this century. But, just as importantly, he is someone who thinks ahead and does not live merely by going from one improvisation to another. Sharansky also has to his credit much of the American government?s new perception in regard to the need for democratization of the Arab world. Sharansky is a leader who has a sense of clal Yisrael, who knows and understands the Jewish world as a whole . Yet, it is very difficult for me to think of myself as voting for what at first certainly was, and claims now not to be, simply the party of one ethnic group, a Russian immigrant party. Here it can be said that Yisrael B?Aliyah has truly made an effort to reach out to other olim, Anglo-Saxons especially. And this party, then, seems to be one which somehow shows some concern for my private economic interest. Yet, it is a very small party and Israel is not all olim and I also object to this party?s ?Russian-ness?, especially when that means encouraging the import of non?Jewish families to Israel. Still, Yisrael B?Aliyah is one of my real options.
The party I should be voting for, if we speak on purely ideological terms, is the Mafdal (National Religious Party). Their principles of life are by and large mine. Yet, I disliked the way they rushed to crown the newly demobilized Effie Eitam as their leader. I have also found that, despite my having a religious Zionist faith close to theirs, they have not articulated a vision of Israel that inspires and moves the broader public. Instead of raising the people up through religion, they seem to reduce the religion down to petty political dealing. And so, in spite of my great sympathy and my agreement with them on their support for the settlements, they just do not feel right for me. And this, when I nonetheless might support them on the grounds that I should, after all, vote for the party closest to me in religious terms.
The other right?wing parties are not options for me at all. While I have great respect for Eli Yishai, who cares deeply about what is a central issue for me, the Jewishness of the Jewish state, I do believe that the Shas party has hurt the body politic in the state of Israel. I believe that the secular?religious polarization has come, in part, because of Haredi efforts at coercing others.
This brings me back to the Likud, and the state of the nation. Prime Minister Sharon has managed to greatly reduce the terrorism, and break up the terrorist infrastructure built by Oslo. He has accomplished this without alienating the United States. He has, however, also left Yasser Arafat and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in place, and not gone all the way in destroying Palestinian terrorism. But there is, of course, the strong likelihood that, if given another term in office he will reach what is surely a goal of his. Sharon, like Sharansky, is someone who thinks more than one step ahead, and he no doubt knows much more than me about what is really going on with the Americans, Iraq, and the likely scenarios to emerge after the American military operation. He, too, I am sure, has plans for dealing with the economic crisis, though in that regard I have even greater doubts about his track record. Moreover, I feel he does not have the ability to really inspire a nation that is, at this point, troubled and confused, in need of both a plan for the future and a vision of it.
So, like so many others when I make my choice this coming Tuesday, I will have the sense that I will be, whatever I choose, not choosing all that the nation really needs.
Either Likud, or Yisrael B?Aliyah, or Mafdal - I still do not know yet, and probably will not know until the moment in the booth when, for some reason I may not yet know, I will choose one of them.
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Shalom Freedman is a freelance writer in Jerusalem whose work has appeared in a wide variety of Jewish publications.
My natural instinct would be to choose the Likud. This is the party that will lead the nation, and I would like to see it have the broadest support possible. But the Likud has disappointed in many ways. I am deeply troubled by the prime minister?s declared support for a Palestinian state, as I believe any Palestinian state would be a great existential threat to Israel. True, he says it will be demilitarized, and not have control over its own border, and not be able to make military alliances with other states. But everyone else in the world, including the Americans, when they speak of a Palestinian state, do not mean what Sharon does. And I believe Israel cannot afford the kind of ?constructive ambiguity? that a wily politician might employ to bring into being an entity that would endanger Israel.
There are other objections to the Likud. The corruption in selecting candidates is one side of it. But there is, too, the whole impression given by the party that it is a group of people eager to be on the take and not to give to the country. The spirit of Menachem Begin , and even of Benny Begin, seems long gone from the Likud. Along with this is the sense that the country is being run like a little family store, especially in regard to the prime minister and his son, Omri. It seems that the choice of Likud is the choice of mediocrity and favoritism. And, of course, the only real reason to choose them is so that, God forbid, those who brought us the disaster of Oslo will not bring us even greater disasters.
Yet, what are the alternatives to the Likud ? The National Union often speaks a harsh truth that the Likud tries to obscure. But it cannot get my vote, because it is far too insular and historically self?righteous. After all, we might not even have had these elections had they been able to think practically and enter the Sharon government. It was also the self- righteous right that brought down the government of Yitzchak Shamir and brought the Yitzchak Rabin/Oslo government into power. They also brought down Binyamin Netanyahu and made Ehud Barak?s election possible.
More substantially, the ?transfer? program is a non-starter with the rest of the world. It is the program that, if attempted, would turn Israel into a pariah state. I know we are a people who dwells alone, but in a world in which there are so many enemies and so much danger, a world in which Israel is so hated even only half a century after the Shoah, we cannot afford to make it so easy for our enemies. We have to fight to keep our friends, and above all, our friend the United States, on our side. And this, of course, is one accomplishment that Sharon and the Likud has, to this point, managed to achieve.
Another possible choice for me is the Yisrael B?Aliyah party. I have greater respect for Natan Sharansky than for any other Israeli politician. He is one of the truly great Jewish heroes of this century. But, just as importantly, he is someone who thinks ahead and does not live merely by going from one improvisation to another. Sharansky also has to his credit much of the American government?s new perception in regard to the need for democratization of the Arab world. Sharansky is a leader who has a sense of clal Yisrael, who knows and understands the Jewish world as a whole . Yet, it is very difficult for me to think of myself as voting for what at first certainly was, and claims now not to be, simply the party of one ethnic group, a Russian immigrant party. Here it can be said that Yisrael B?Aliyah has truly made an effort to reach out to other olim, Anglo-Saxons especially. And this party, then, seems to be one which somehow shows some concern for my private economic interest. Yet, it is a very small party and Israel is not all olim and I also object to this party?s ?Russian-ness?, especially when that means encouraging the import of non?Jewish families to Israel. Still, Yisrael B?Aliyah is one of my real options.
The party I should be voting for, if we speak on purely ideological terms, is the Mafdal (National Religious Party). Their principles of life are by and large mine. Yet, I disliked the way they rushed to crown the newly demobilized Effie Eitam as their leader. I have also found that, despite my having a religious Zionist faith close to theirs, they have not articulated a vision of Israel that inspires and moves the broader public. Instead of raising the people up through religion, they seem to reduce the religion down to petty political dealing. And so, in spite of my great sympathy and my agreement with them on their support for the settlements, they just do not feel right for me. And this, when I nonetheless might support them on the grounds that I should, after all, vote for the party closest to me in religious terms.
The other right?wing parties are not options for me at all. While I have great respect for Eli Yishai, who cares deeply about what is a central issue for me, the Jewishness of the Jewish state, I do believe that the Shas party has hurt the body politic in the state of Israel. I believe that the secular?religious polarization has come, in part, because of Haredi efforts at coercing others.
This brings me back to the Likud, and the state of the nation. Prime Minister Sharon has managed to greatly reduce the terrorism, and break up the terrorist infrastructure built by Oslo. He has accomplished this without alienating the United States. He has, however, also left Yasser Arafat and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in place, and not gone all the way in destroying Palestinian terrorism. But there is, of course, the strong likelihood that, if given another term in office he will reach what is surely a goal of his. Sharon, like Sharansky, is someone who thinks more than one step ahead, and he no doubt knows much more than me about what is really going on with the Americans, Iraq, and the likely scenarios to emerge after the American military operation. He, too, I am sure, has plans for dealing with the economic crisis, though in that regard I have even greater doubts about his track record. Moreover, I feel he does not have the ability to really inspire a nation that is, at this point, troubled and confused, in need of both a plan for the future and a vision of it.
So, like so many others when I make my choice this coming Tuesday, I will have the sense that I will be, whatever I choose, not choosing all that the nation really needs.
Either Likud, or Yisrael B?Aliyah, or Mafdal - I still do not know yet, and probably will not know until the moment in the booth when, for some reason I may not yet know, I will choose one of them.
--------------------------------------------------------
Shalom Freedman is a freelance writer in Jerusalem whose work has appeared in a wide variety of Jewish publications.