Daniel Landau serves as Field Director of Otzma Yehudit’s English-Speaking Campaign. A resident of Beit Shemesh, he holds a BA in political science and an MA in nonprofit management and leadership.
Before I made aliyah, politics was my plan. I studied political science, interned in both the U.S. House and Senate, and pictured a career in Washington.
Then I moved to Israel, and that plan quietly went on the shelf.
My Hebrew was good, but not good enough to work in Israeli politics, or so I told myself. So I did what many olim do. I voted, I followed the news, and I stayed on the sidelines.
Frankly, I also didn't understand what I was voting for. Like many American immigrants, I knew one thing: I wanted Benjamin Netanyahu to be prime minister. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to absorb that Israelis don't vote for a prime minister at all. We vote for parties. Seats are divided among the lists that cross the 3.25% threshold, (which is why it is important to vote for a party with a strong chance of reaching it), and the government is built afterward, through coalition negotiations.
That changed everything for me. If you vote for a party, you need to know the party: its platform, its people, its record. English-speaking Israelis are being asked to make that choice, many without the information they need, in a language they're comfortable with.
That's what finally pulled me off the sidelines.
It started at home, in Beit Shemesh. My city is a microcosm of Israel: olim and sabras, Haredim and Dati Leumi families, secular Israelis, English speakers and Hebrew speakers, often living a few streets apart. I noticed that while other religious rightist parties had a presence in Beit Shemesh, Otzma Yehudit had almost no organized presence here, and even less connection to the large Anglo community in and around the city. So I reached out with a simple proposal: let me help build that bridge.
Why Otzma Yehudit? For me, it came down to its record.
As a volunteer EMT, I take public safety personally. After October 7, I watched closely as Ben-Gvir expanded civilian firearm licensing. Last month he marked the 300,000th new license issued under his post-October 7 reform. According to figures presented to the Knesset, the number of active civilian license holders rose from roughly 155,000 in 2022 to about 350,000 by June of this year. Beit Shemesh was among the cities where eligibility was expanded.
He pushed for community emergency response squads, kitot konenut, which grew from around 70 before October 7 to more than 1,000, overhauled the Prison System, pushed for the death-penalty law, changed reality for Jews on the Temple Mount, demolished a good many illegal Arab homes.
These policies are debated, and they should be. Supporters see deterrence and preparedness; critics raise questions about oversight and due process.
I don't expect every reader to share my conclusions. I want Anglo voters to look at what was actually implemented and judge the results for themselves.
That's the larger point. Israel's English-speaking community is full of people who chose this country: professionals, leaders and builders with real ideas about how to make it better.
Representing them shouldn't mean showing up in Anglo neighborhoods every election season and disappearing afterward. It means listening, and keeping the channel open: for the person fighting the bureaucracy, the one worried about a policy, the one with an idea for a law. That's what we in Otzma Yehudit are trying to build, and it doesn't end on Tuesday.
So, a few practical words before Election Day. Confirm your polling station. Bring valid ID. Know your party's ballot letter. In the booth, you'll pick a single petek, the paper slip printed with the party's letters, seal it in the envelope, and drop it in the box. And remember: you're choosing a party, not a prime minister. Choose accordingly.
Otzma Yehudit's letter is ב, Bet. The Religious Zionist party's letter is ט. For me, they stand for bitachon, security, and for leaders, like Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose approach to national security shaped my decision. The Religious Zionist party is headed by Bezalel Smotrich and you can read about it here.
But whatever letter you choose, choose it. You don't need perfect Hebrew or political connections to have a voice in this country. I waited years to learn that. You don't have to.