Election Threat that Passed and ultra-Orthodox Power

We, in Israel, witnessed a real “general electoral trial circus”. Was it “to be or not to be, that is the question?” The reason for holding the elections was the Conscription Bill that the ultra-Orthodox Parties in the Knesset opposed. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who supports compulsory conscription of the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) youngsters to the IDF and as a result the government nearly fell with the threat of early elections.

The Knesset

A compromise was reached and the threat of early elections passed with plenty ado and the ruffling of some coalition feathers and perhaps a sigh of relief from the opposition with the exception of Meretz.

It was unclear as to whether beleaguered  PM Netanyahu supported the idea of early general elections or not bearing in mind the various suspect criminal files against him. In any case, the past few days was a charade if not a political circus.

The message that this political charade and Knesset filibuster brought to the public is the tremendous powers that the parasitic ultra-Orthodox parties have over the coalition. These parties have great potential of blackmailing any coalition of which they always manage to be part.  The contribution to the wellbeing of Israel is not the priority of the ultra-Orthodox parties. Their agenda is very sectarian especially when it comes to financially feathering the nests of their parasitic yeshivot, which has zero contribution to the State of Israel. Their youngsters are discouraged from serving in the IDF and the extremist Lithuanian cult in their midst hold massive demonstrations against those who serve in the IDF. The few ultra-Orthodox youngsters that do serve in the IDF are ostracised and in many cases are dealt with violently by the extremist ultra-Orthodox sects in their various communities.

It is a disgrace that the ultra-Orthodox parasitic bunch of scoundrels and blackmailers in Yahadut Hatorah and Shas Parties have tremendous powers far beyond what they deserve. They can cripple any ruling government on a whim. They do everything in their power to prevent their yeshiva students from serving in the IDF and doing their national duty.

“In 1953, as a part of the “Status quo agreement” which was meant to create a stable coexistence between religious and secular elements in Israeli society, the Personal Status Law was passed. Under this law, all issues of personal status were passed over to the exclusive control of the Orthodox religious establishment. This has created enormous tensions within Israel since all sorts of different groups feel marginalised and unrepresented in issues of personal status. Many groups, such as Ethiopian and Russian immigrants, have suffered what they perceive as almost wholesale discrimination and humiliation at the hands of representatives of the Orthodox establishment.” from The Role of Religion In Israeli Society

There is no doubt that the establishment ruling Orthodox Rabbinate has caused much pain to those, whose Jewishness is in doubt according to their interpretation of Halacha. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel also blacklists Diaspora rabbis 1. What right do they assume in doing this?

Establishment Orthodox Judaism in Israel has become more extreme and less tolerant over the years. There is a dearth of so-called Zionist right-wing rabbinical bigots, who make disparaging remarks about women serving in the army. What right have they got to interfere with the decisions of the IDF as far as women conscripts are concerned? These bigots have taken it upon themselves to be the watchdogs of morals pertaining to their hell and brimstone-style of Judaism.

These establishment rabbis, whether Haredi or right-wing Zionist Orthodox are driving a wedge within Israel’s society. I have asked myself if these rabbis have anything to contribute to Israel apart from their narrow world view and their desire to manipulate the naivety and ignorance of many observant Jews. This is where their power lies! They are political, divisive, despicable and hungry for power, influence and financial enrichment. The Chief Rabbi of Safed, Shmuel Eliyahu 2 is an example of a rabbi with a narrow, racial worldview. Unfortunately, there are quite a few of them with his philosophy. He also ruled that rape in war is justified.3

The time is overdue for separation of Orthodox Synagogue and State. Prolonging the unhealthy situation of establishment Orthodox Judaism that encroaches on personal freedom of the Jewish People in Israel to be secular, Reform or Conservative with the freedom to have civil marriages as well as recognition of non-Orthodox rabbis to perform marriages according to the desires of their adherents.

Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau (L) and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef

Israel can never claim to be a true democracy while the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate establishment hegemony has so much power in Israel. They are also those who decide who are Jews and who are not. The Chief Rabbinate must have its immense powers of blackmail, bribery, corruption and hypocrisy curtailed.4 The Chief Rabbinate of Israel holds the monopoly on Judaism! Now with the Pesach festival on our doorstep, the “Kosher for Pesach Circus” is upon us. In general, the Kashrut services are riddled with corruption according to the State Comptroller Report of 2017. No doubt, the same will be true of 2018. It is all monopoly with Chief Rabbinate approval with financial kickbacks to most that are involved in its enforcement. However, it appears that the self-styled “Watchdogs of Judaism” - the Chief Rabbinate of Israel - overlook all the religious, clerical corruption in their midst in their so-called duty to prevent assimilation and ensure the preservation of Jewish identity 5 and more importantly their power. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has no place in a modern society. This institution must go!

Rabbi Uri Regev on the Chief Rabbinate

References: 

1. "Israeli Chief Rabbinate blacklists 160 Diaspora rabbis - Israel News ...." 9 Jul. 2017, http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Chief-Rabbinate-forced-to-publish-rabbinical-blacklist-of-160-rabbis-in-Diaspora-499171. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018.
2. "Shmuel Eliyahu | The Times of Israel." https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/shmuel-eliyahu/. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018.
3. "The Chief Rabbi of Safed, Shmuel Eliyahu, rules that rape in war is ...." 30 Aug. 2017, https://medium.com/@TonyGreenstein/the-chief-rabbi-of-safed-shmuel-eliyahu-rules-that-rape-in-war-is-justified-607f6b2c0ac3. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018.
4. "Ex-Israeli chief rabbi Yona Metzger indicted for corruption | The Times ...." https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-israeli-chief-rabbi-yona-metzger-indicted-for-corruption/. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018.
5. "Jewish identity - Wikipedia." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_identity. Accessed 17 Mar. 2018.

See

Israel's Chief Rabbinate and Corruption are Blots on Israel's Democracy

President Trump's Recognition of Jerusalem

President Donald Trump never fails to surprise. It is always the context in which he makes his predictable announcements and the timing that could not be worse. This president is the most unconventional president that the US has ever had in all its history. His announcement that the US will officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital and that he will be ordering the US Embassy to be moved to Jerusalem will create repercussions in the Palestinian world if not the whole Arab world and its allies.

Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, reversing longtime U.S. policy

 In Israel, these announcements of Trump have met with great applause. Naturally, the Government Coalition is head over heels in euphoria and is close to dancing the hora. Was this Trump announcement really necessary?

We are all aware that Israel’s Knesset is in Jerusalem and this makes Jerusalem de facto capital of Israel and this does not warrant Trump’s announcement on this issue. The status quo at present on Jerusalem was never an issue and its final status has been recognized as an essential part of a final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians when both sides re-negotiate a lasting peace. Trump has put the cart before the horse because of his usual hubris and total lack of foresight. It is doubtful whether he has any plan as to how to get peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian initiated.   

What Trump has done may reap praises from the present right-wing in Israel as well as providing an excuse for the Palestinians to threaten Israel with terror attacks that will result in unnecessary suffering for both sides. Trump does not understand that the Palestinians do not resemble the Swiss or any other European nation in their logic and rationality with whom one can negotiate a “peace deal” (to use Trumpist terminology). They are driven by mantras of fantasy and hatred for Israel and if it is not the Jerusalem issue it will be another issue that can ignite the Palestinian leaders to goad their people into committing violence against Israelis. The issue of the status of Jerusalem has been a hot potato since Israel’s establishment. The problem between Israel and the Palestinians is an existential one and will always remain glowing embers until some world statesman puts his/her foot in it by saying things that are best left unsaid for the sake of preventing violence and bloodshed.

Already there are threatening rumblings in the Palestinian leadership about Trump’s announcement that will reverberate across the Middle East and may even threaten the trust that is in its very initial stages between Israel and Saudi Arabia and may even threaten Israel’s tenuous relations with Egypt and Jordan. Is this really necessary? We, in Israel, do not need Trump’s announcements on Jerusalem as it is like waving a red rag to a bull. It is also detrimental to the interests of the US as well as Israel. In fact, there are reports of Israeli soldiers clashing with Palestinians who are protesting Trump’s Jerusalem decision. The clashes have already started between the Palestinians and the IDF. Trump has already struck a match on the already glowing embers. This is the first time that a US president must bear the blame for an unnecessary provocation.

There is an old Jewish saying that says that it is better to be wise rather than to be right. This is most applicable to Trump, who is far from being wise. There are certain things that are better left unsaid in order to avoid senseless violence and bloodshed. This is so true in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Trump appears to have blown it.

A Stench of General Elections in the Air as False Alarm

General election fever in democratic countries is a time of excitement. This takes place every four or five years when the citizen gets ready for the one day that he/she feels like a king or queen as the right to vote for a government of one’s choice is exercised. All the political parties gear themselves up by making empty promises and populist statements that can never be fulfilled. Despite these pitfalls, there is a dearth of polls - most of which are misleading with questionable predictions as was in the American Presidential Election of November 2016. The polls in Israel are no less accurate yet they have their pundits.

In Israel, election results are predictable, especially today. It is a foregone conclusion that the right and the extreme right wing will win the elections if held today. No party will get an absolute majority, but the right wing block with its plethora of parties with similar ideologies will form the next coalition government that will be even more radically right wing than the present.

It all started with PM Netanyahu wishing to close down the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation in order to privatise it and make it more cost-effective as well as being more of a government mouthpiece. This would mean firing 1000 employees.

The Finance Minister, Moshe Kahlon was prepared to go with Netanyahu on this and in the end, Netanyahu changed his mind after consulting with the employees’ representatives who felt that they were on the firing line. Netanyahu opposed the move but Kahlon was not prepared to back down on Netanyahu’s original decision. The closing down of the IBA is scheduled to occur on 30th April 2017. This would be replaced by a new broadcasting company called Kan that would receive a smaller budget. It would also be run by the Communications Ministry and tow the government line. In other words, Israeli and TV services would be handcuffed to a certain extent and lose their independence.

At the time of writing both Netanyahu and Kahlon are on the edge of brinkmanship and no agreement on this issue has been achieved by these two players despite the numerous meetings between the two. 

According to latest reports, an agreement between Netanyahu and Kahlon has been reached. A compromise has been made. No elections for the time being until the next storm in a teacup when we shall all be getting a feeling of deja vu for the umpteenth time.

National elections for the Knesset must take place once every four years, though early elections have occurred more often and few governments have reached the four-year limit.

General Elections in Israel have a habit of being very predictable. The Israeli electorate for the most part over the years has moved away from the left of centre and towards the right and extreme right. There are no signs that this trend will change in the foreseeable future.

The right wing parties - Likud, Kulanu, Jewish Home Party, Yisrael Beitenu, Yesh Atid (a sitting on the fence party that could under certain circumstances move to the right as its leader, Yair Lapid, is a shallow populist and adapts his views to suit his electorate) would probably form the next government. Yesh Atid has a problem with sitting in the same coalition with the ultra-Orthodox parties, who are not well disposed towards Yesh Atid. Nevertheless with a little push and shove and monies pledged to their ultra-Orthodox yeshivot as a bonus, this problem will undoubtedly be solved.

The present government is the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. It is unfortunate that it is a government with no foresight and prefers to allow the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict to remain unsolved. It is a government that puts great emphasis on illegal settler expansion for which the taxpayers pay the price. Those who oppose the occupation are viewed as traitors and automatically categorised as BDS supporters. Nothing could be further from the truth. Democracy is also being eroded and people are being intimidated for their views if they do not coincide with the ruling government coalition. The stormy Minister of Culture and Sport, Miri Regev,  a great pundit for PM Bibi Netanyahu has threatened to withhold state funding for cultural projects that she defines subjectively as being hostile to Israel according to her narrow definition of culture. She does not even have minimum knowledge or understanding of Western culture and is condescending towards those whose appreciation of Western culture is important. A person in her position should be tolerant and accept all forms of culture whether North African, Oriental, Western or whatever, especially in Israel which is a melting pot of different cultures. So what if artists are not always portraying Israel in a positive light on stage.

Even in Judaism, the Orthodox establishment rabbis are becoming more intolerant of those who are different and many of them are even racists. Examples are Rabbi Dov Lior, Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, and  Rabbi Yosef Elitzur.  They have the final say on Halachic rulings as to who is a Jew and whether couples can marry according to their narrow interpretation of Halacha if one of the partners “Jewishness” is suspect. Under this government, the ultra-Orthodox parties have never had it so good. Under this government, there has been a rise of Jewish religious extremism and it is truly frightening. The Jewish Home Party is predicted to increase its strength according to the latest polls. It is a party that is racist and composed of people like MK Bezalel Smotrich, whose far-right views can only be described as virulently racist. He is a typical example of the ideology of the Jewish Home Party that is not very far from fascism. If one wishes to find a parallel to South African apartheid ideology, it is in Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home Party with its bunch of intolerant bigots and herrenvolk.

The Netanyahu Government under pressure from this despicable Jewish Home Party also has a Justice Minister, Ayelet Shaked - a young, attractive Jewish Home Party Party firebrand with an agenda of wishing to appoint judges with right-wing views to the High Court of Appeal. She has already antagonised the present Judge President, Miriam Naor and senior judges.

This Jewish Home Party is a danger to democracy and is even interfering with the Courts to enforce its own agenda. The same can be said of the leader of this despicable party of Jewish Nationalist extremists, Minister of Education (or Brainwashing Indoctrination), Naftali Bennett, makes no bones about the education system he would like to envisage.

If general elections in Israel would result in a new government that is more open, does not erode the Israeli Court system nor tries to monopolize culture and with it censorship of films and books not supportive of the government, as well as improving the education system rather than letting it slide into the agenda of the Jewish Home Party and its inherent racism, perhaps there would be hope for a government that is all embracing of all Israel’s citizens irrespective of race, colour or creed, then the time will be ripe for elections. Naturally an honest desire for peace with our Palestinian neighbours involving making the compromises to achieve that even though the Hamas camp is not willing to negotiate. At least some moves will be made in the direction of negotiations. If the Palestinian leadership (Hamas and the PA) are not willing, at least Israel can go on record as making a genuine effort by halting settlements as starters.

Having premature elections, when there is no sign of any change, is a pointless exercise in futility and frustration. It only consolidates the present governmental stench of the right to extreme right wing party hacks in all their colours.

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Israeli Arab Leaders Defending Hezbollah

"The policies that the Israeli political establishment is pursuing [are] leading us all into a dead end," says Odeh [Ayman Odeh's campaign]

It does not seem logical let alone very destructive for the Arab leaders of the Joint List in the Knesset to proclaim that Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization. The Balad and Hadash factions in this list are pressurizing the Joint Arab List to support Hezbollah and legitimize it. What is the purpose of doing this? Hezbollah has a history of firing rockets into Israel and injuring Arab citizens of Israel as well. Rockets fired into Israel kill and destroy and make no distinction between Jews and Arabs. In this respect it is not apartheid-friendly.

The Joint List is the third largest party in the Knesset. It is in the unique position of representing the Arab Israeli minority’s interests and fighting for equality with its Jewish counterparts in Israel. There is much that can be done in that sphere. Combating social and work discrimination as well as improving socio-economic conditions for the Arab community they represent is a formidable task. It should work in improving relations between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel and acting as a bridge between the two communities. Ayman Oudeh, the Joint List leader prior to his election to the Knesset, appeared to move along the path of coexistence, promoting dialogue between the communities  and certainly deserved support for taking the line of tolerance in outreach.

What has happened to Oudeh? Why is he not showing the leadership qualities for which he was elected? He is being led into a direction which is creating distrust between his party and Jewish Israelis. He is not forthcoming in representing his electorate’s interests of coexistence and socio-economic improvement as well as integration into being Israel Citizens with equal human rights and dignity that the Arab Citizens of Israel are entitled. The Balad factions of his party are pandering to the peers of Palestinian terrorists, who come into Israel on lone stabbing sprees. Instead he and his party are antagonizing Jewish Israelis as well as many Arab Israelis by wasting unnecessary energy on standing to attention and sympathizing with parents of Palestinian terrorists whose sons and daughters were killed while committing terrorist acts. This is no way to gain the trust of Jewish and Arab Israelis. 

Added to the behavior of the Joint List, which seems to represent Palestinian interests in the Knesset rather than Israeli Arab interests by the rhetoric in support of viewing Hezbollah as a movement devoid of terrorism creates an unnecessary schism between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

If he wishes to regain the trust of Jewish Israelis as well as many Arab Israelis, who have also suffered at the hand of Palestinian terror, he should retract the statement declaring Hezbollah as not being a terrorist movement and be more forthcoming in condemning Palestinian terror against innocent citizens by not getting involved in returning terrorist Palestinian corpses to their families. There are channels in Israel whereby this is being done without Joint List sympathy and activity. 

The Bickering Right Wing Coalition of Self-Interest

The Likud won the most seats in the Knesset after the March 2015 Elections and, superficially, it seemed that Netanyahu would have no problem forming a right to extreme right-wing coalition. Everything seemed to go in his favor especially the moment the results were known.

34th Cabinet of Israel

This was not to be. He was surrounded by a macabre mix of small right wing parties, such as Naphtali Bennett's  Bayit Hayehudi, Moshe Kahlon's Kulanu, the ultra-Orthodox Shas under Arye Mahluf Deri and Torah Judaism Parties. Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu decided not to be part of the coalition. A right wing coalition of 61 members was cobbled together with much bickering, political blackmail for cabinet posts and intra-fraternal strife. Even the opposition of 59 members is fragmented. This will give the coalition more power than it deserves.

We all saw the result. Netanyahu won and lost. While forming a coalition, he paid a very high price by giving out key cabinet posts to the small, political blackmailing, sectoral parties so that he could present his credentials to President Reuven Rivlin. We witnessed an amazing circus of squabbling, mediocre party hacks scrambling for cabinet posts, leaving the Likud dry with relatively minor portfolios that were divided into almost indecipherable cabinet posts that hopefully would make a united coalition. This was meant to satisfy the hungry potential cabinet ministers, whose grudges against each other were so blatant. The latest edition to the cabinet is Gilad Erdan, who was sworn in at the last minute possibly at the expense of veteran, Benny Begin. Begin may have a cabinet post created for him at the last minute. Gilad Erdan is loyal to Netanyahu and defended Netanyahu and his wife's follies through thick and thin. Initially he was left out of the cabinet. However with a "kvetch" here and there he was brought into the cabinet.

The majority of the Israeli Electorate is right wing and even that vote is split among right wing small parties. Most of the leaders of these parties have super-inflated egos and wield tremendous power to blackmail Netanyahu into giving in to their demands for cabinet posts. In order to satisfy them a law increasing the number of cabinet ministers from eighteen members to twenty members was cobbled together at a lightning pace.

The ultra-Orthodox partners never had it so good for many years. The conscription of Haredi youth into the IDF will not occur. There will be increased funding for their yeshivot at the tax-payers' expense. They will get increased funding from the National Insurance for maintenance of their children. Secular education will be denied them so that they will remain eternal Talmud scholars, unable to develop skills to earn a decent livelihood on the free market. More state money will be going into settlements in the occupied West Bank, thanks to Bayit HaYehudi (The Jewish Home Party) in the coalition. It will be a coalition to promote narrow sectarian interests.

In apartheid South Africa under white minority rule, the government maintained power by shouting "swart gevaar" (black danger) which was basically a call to the blood by using racist scare tactics. This worked for many years until sanctions were declared against South Africa and the economy collapsed as a result. This heralded the demise of apartheid and a democratically elected ANC government.

In Israel, on Election Day, Netanyahu went into a panic and used the sane "call to the blood" tactic. He stated that the Arabs were coming out in droves to vote and this could be a threat to Israel. The ruse worked but Netanyahu lost to the small right wing parties and the ultra-Orthodox parties. The "wheeling and dealing" to form a coalition, which has always been part of Israel's political leadership, had reached a new low. All the members of the coalition dislike and do not trust each other. This coalition will probably not last until the next scheduled election in 4 years.

The Zionist Camp candidate, Isaac Herzog, lost the elections and perhaps it is a blessing in disguise for him. We are all witnessing "how the mighty Netanyahu has fallen". Netanyahu had it made for him after the elections, but had made painful compromises rather than brave decisions as the small parties blackmailed him politically and left him without any choices. He went back on his cabinet post promises for his political party cartel, leaving his party colleagues disgruntled.

This coalition will be impotent and there will be no reforms that will improve the lot of the economically weak sectors. The Finance Minister, Moshe Kahlon, who promised to introduce reforms in lowering prices of natural gas has turned around and has washed his hands fromhis rhetoric before the elections as it goes against a tycoon friend of his that has large financial interests in one of the gas companies called Tamar.

Most of Israel's Likud cabinet ministers have received chopped up pieces of portfolios to satisfy their voracious appetites for cabinet posts. It is rather pathetic and wasteful. Thank goodness that Israel has many tax-payers who will fulfill their civil duties to pay for coalition follies.

Peace with the Palestinians and the two-state solution will not happen on this Netanyahu watch. He has made that clear. There will be no freezing of settlements in the West Bank. On the Palestinian side there is no viable partner for peace any less than on the Israeli side. President Mahmoud Abbas, will be unable to sign any agreement with Israel on that score even if conditions were amenable. The extremists in the Palestinian camp from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and those even more radical will assassinate Mahmoud Abbas, whose power base is very weak if he even signs a peace agreement with Israel. He is better off threatening to take Israel to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for war crimes where he can somehow maintain his status quo which suits him and his PA. After all, Dr Saeb Barekat, the eternal negotiator, will be unemployed in the remote event of a peace treaty being signed.

The blame for this situation lies with many Israeli voters who are ignorant of the importance and responsibility of voting. There will be no breakthroughs for peace or any progressive new laws. It will be the same stereotype declarations of recognizing Israel as the nation state of the Jewish People and with that much undertones of racism towards Israel's non-Jewish minorities. Sectarian interest, especially serving the right wing, will take priority in this pathetic coalition of mediocre, small party political hacks.The government will have its strength in making laws that have a right wing and religious orthodox Jewish consensus rather than what is good for all Israel's citizens. Israel will be in for a rough ride internationally. 

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Thoughts on the Israeli Elections 2015

English: Israeli Ballot Divider עברית: פרגוד ההצבעה (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As the time draws closer to the Israeli Elections on 17th March 2015, the polls are showing some trends towards the nature of the coalition government-to-be. The Israeli Electorate is more center right to right wing and this includes support for the right wing small parties including the religious right-wing Zionist as well as ultra-Orthodox. This gives a definite edge over the center-left to left wing bloc.

Despite all the electoral hype, polls and spin, the claim of the Zionist Camp forming the next coalition is remote. There are trends but it is unrealistic to share the optimistic view of the Zionist Camp forming the next government, despite the fact that the Zionist Camp is leading the Likud by 4 mandates according to the latest polls.

Many Israelis do not like Netanyahu, but they will vote for his Likud list as they feel that there is no alternative to Netanyahu's leadership. They view the Herzog-Livni partnership as a poor choice. Livni is not stable as she has changed loyalties three times before putting her eggs in Herzog's basket. The "blue-blooded" Isaac"Bouji" Herzog seems to lack charisma for being prime minister. His manner and his voice do not inspire many people. He has become more charismatic lately due to voice-training, and coaching. Apart from that, Tzippi Livni, may be an obstacle to the Zionist Camp getting enough mandates to be invited by the President to form a new government coalition after the elections. Increased support for Meretz will increase the Zionist Camp's chances of forming a new government.

The main players that will influence the nature of the coalition will be the small parties. Most of the small parties tend towards the center right to extreme right and are the natural partners for a right wing coalition under Likud leadership even if the Likud list gets 3-4 less mandates than the Zionist Camp. If the Zionist Camp continues their momentum of increasing the par by 8-10 mandates from the Likud then their chances would improve to become the next government.  

The left-wing Meretz Party is on the borderline of being represented in the Knesset. Polls indicate that they may get from 4 to 6 seats. If they only muster 4 seats then they may be eliminated from the parliamentary scene. This will be a sad day for Israel's democracy if it happens. Many Meretz supporters will change allegiance and vote for the Zionist Camp. This will not help the Zionist Camp to win the elections. A strong Meretz will increase the chances of the Zionist Camp to be invited by President Rivlin to form the new government after the elections. Meretz has declared that it will support Herzog in forming the next government.

There is a possibility that the two main parties, Likud and Zionist Camp will form a coalition together. Those who vote for the Zionist Camp at the expense of Meretz may even get the Likud as a coalition partner. One must remember that after the elections, the ball game changes in coalition negotiations and unlikely bedfellows become partners in a new government coalition despite declarations to the contrary. This happens after every election in Israel and there is no indication that this will not happen again. History - political and non-political, has a habit of repeating itself. The Likud and Labor have sat together in a coalition in past governments.  A voter, who is left inclined, will not be happy if this will be the final scenario after 17th March. Many of us who vote against Netanyahu would not like to see a Likud-Zionist Camp coalition. A vote for Meretz is a vote against a coalition with the Likud, right wing settlement-oriented, ultra-Orthodox government, which could include the Zionist Camp.

According to the latest polls, there is a move towards the Zionist Camp, who is 3-4 seats ahead of the Likud. The party coalition bloc will determine the nature of the coalition. In this, the Likud has an advantage despite trailing behind the Zionist Camp in the polls.

Many left wing Jewish voters may even leave Meretz and support the Joint Arab List (Ram-Tal, Balad, Hadash) Within this Joint List is the Islamic Movement that does not represent the secular supporters, Jewish and Arab. This will give this party a rather partisan character. This partisanship is no less negative than the extremist right wing partisan Zionist and ultra-Orthodox Parties. The Joint List will be the third largest party according to the latest polls. This party claims that it will fight racism, strive for equality between all Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel as well as true democracy. The leader of this party, Ayman Odeh, is eloquent, pleasant and lacks the aggressive rhetoric of Haneen Zoabi, the MK of the Balad Party. Zoabi has made statements that are in bad taste, divisive and very partisan. After the elections, the glue that cements the Joint List may melt and if this happens they may not be the chief opposition party. If not, according to Israeli Law, Ayman Odeh will be the leader of the opposition and the future prime minister will have to update him on decisions in the various Knesset committees, including the Security and Defense Committees. I wonder how the future government will adjust to that!

The Joint List has refused to sign an agreement for excess votes with Meretz because Meretz is a Zionist Party. The mantra of anything associated with Zionism to some Joint List members is considered evil. This is really so short-sighted and narrow minded for a party that claims to uphold ideals of democracy and equality that is very close to Meretz ideology. There are Zionists, who do not share the racist right-wing ideologies of the religious Zionist Party, Bayit Hayehudi, and extreme right wing members of the Likud including Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beteinu. Surely this illustrates a hypocritic streak in the Joint List that labels people as evil because they are Zionists.  

I shall be voting for Meretz with pride. A vote for sanity, a vote against Likud-Bayit Hayehudi racism, a vote for human values and decency for all Israel's citizens irrespective of race, colour and faith. It is also a vote for a more humane policy towards foreign or migrant workers and refugees, whose lives are endangered in their home countries. We must also negotiate peace with our Palestinian neighbors and work for an end to the occupation as essential priorities. The Joint List has elements of bigotry that is nationalist oriented on the Arab side in the Islamic Movement not much different to the late Rabbi Kahana racism of Baruch Marzel, an extreme religious right-winger, in the Yahad Party of Eli Yishai. Israel needs to improve its relations with the US which Netanyahu has damaged.

There is no doubt that we must vote for ending the Netanyahu regime that offers no future for Israel. Israel’s world image has taken a severe knock because of the Likud. This must improve with a positive change of government. Unfortunately, there will be no conclusive victory for either bloc and the possibility of the final say will be in the hands of President Reuven Rivlin.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

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