Why is Nora voting Labor? Real choices in this election

A few days ago I was talking to a friend of mine from ulpan about the elections. When I told her how I was voting, her earnest reply was, "But why not Bennett?" Bennett, is of course Naftali Bennett, the (apparently) unthreatening face of the National Religious Right. His Habayit Hayehudi (The Jewish Home) party has taken this election season by surprise by nabbing votes of disillusioned Likud supporters and moderate youth alike.

A cursory look at the party list shows, for the most part, a compilation of settler rabbis and settler leaders who have vehemently opposed classic threats to the Jewish state such as gay soldiers serving in the IDF (and rights for gay people in general), the Knesset committee for the status of women, and human rights groups. All are DTATWB (down to annex the West Bank). So how has the party earned a reputation for being centrist?

Bennett, whose name in the news is often accompanied by the epithet "charismatic," boasts Californian parentage, sports a clean-shaven face and what some have described as "a very small kippah." He made this innocuous ad targeting English-speaking olim:



In short, he seems relatable. But the fact is that Bennett wants to annex the 60% of the West Bank known as Area C (his plan is to build bridges between Palestinian areas so that Jews don't have to encounter checkpoints) and "believes that, ultimately, the world is busy with the economic collapse of Greece, the United States' fiscal cliff and the slaughter in Syria, and thus it is possible to bring the world to come to terms now with facts on the ground and firm Israeli decisions." (http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/the-success-of-naftali-bennett-is-the-failure-of-the-israeli-center-left.premium-1.490536). His wanton disdain for a sustainable relationship between Israel and Palestine, and cavalier dismissal of the international community should terrify anyone who cares about the future of the Jewish state.

In my encounters with Israelis and other olim, I have, to my surprise and dismay, met many who are deliberating between voting Habayit Hayehudi and Labor. But while Bennett's party represents extreme right views on social and diplomatic issues, Labor's list is one of people who are speaking out against the racism, sexism, and homophobia that are the trademarks of the religious right, and in favor of social and economic equality, and a sustainable, secure relationship with the Palestinians.

-Nora, an olah from the United States

Why is Nathan voting Labor? Hope not fear

When Barack Obama won re-election in 2012, he said

"If you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters... You make a big election about small things".

Americans should be grateful. At least they had an election about something. Instead, the Likud party, whose victory in the upcoming elections has the air of the inevitable, has distilled its raison d'etre into this advertisement, called "The absurd theater of the Left":

In it, the leaders of the center and left are represented by finger puppets. Zehava Gal-On of Meretz is portrayed saying “End the occupation” again and again, while a man mimics Shelly Yachimovitch of Labor harping endlessly about the convergence of “wealth and power,”

Fortunately for us, the leadership of the Jewish state has its eyes on the real prize, and doesn't need to bother itself with occupation and the economy when Iran might be developing a nuclear weapon. Never mind that Israel has one of the highest rates of inequality in the OECD. Never mind that it's been occupying another nation for nearly fifty years. Never mind that tens of thousands of African asylum seekers live in limbo in South Tel Aviv, in permanent fear of deportation. The important thing is to keep people afraid, because then they'll vote for the 'strong leader'.

Surely Israel's had enough of this? Surely it's time to try something else? How long can a nation be led on the basis of fear and isolation, instead of values of equality, freedom and justice?

I’m supporting Shelly Yachimovich because I know that there are many aspects of Israeli society that need to change. I believe that change is possible and I refuse to let my country be paralyzed by fear.

-Nathan, an oleh from Australia

Why is Naomi voting Labor? Anti-prejudice

Yesterday the campaign broadcasts for the Israeli elections started. Two weeks before the elections, each party gets air time in accordance with its size to promote itself by showing what it will do, attacking other parties, or telling personal stories about the party leader. Some of the broadcasts are funny, some are annoying, some are...

Even though I already decided who I’m going to vote for, I really like to watch these broadcasts and see the messages of each party, so yesterday I was really excited that it started.

Most of the broadcasts were what I expected, but one made me really angry – It was a Shas broadcast, showing a couple standing under the chuppah. The bride is an Olah from Russia, while the groom is an Israeli-born Jew (non-Russian). During the ceremony, the bride tells the groom about the fax machine she received as a gift from “Beiteinu,” referring to Avigdor Lieberman’s political party, Yisrael Beiteinu. When the groom is confused about why they need a fax machine under their chuppah, she explains that she can dial *conversion. When the groom is appalled that she’s not Jewish, she gets a fax with a conversion certificate and says that now she is. Then he refuses to kiss her because she is not Jewish.

Here it is (in Hebrew) - 

Why was I so mad?

As a person I was mad about the racist way that Shas is presenting the Olim from Russia and how the husband is disgusted to discover that his wife is “not Jewish.”

As a Jew I was mad because Shas doesn’t recognize non-orthodox conversions even though they are a very serious process.

As a Zionist I was mad because Olim who came here as Jews according to the Law of Return are not recognized as Jews in Israel, and cannot be married as Jews or even in a civil marriage, as there is no legally-recognized civil marriage in Israel.

Shas does everything it can to prevent the legislation of civil marriage in Israel and the recognition of non-Haredi conversions.

How does this connect to the Labor party?

One of the things I really appreciate about Shelly Yachimovich is that she is trying to promote politics that is not based on hating other sectors of Israeli society and attacking them. I think many parties, including Shas in this case, have much to learn from her.

Also, Knesset member Nino Abesadze, who is running for the Labor Party, filed a petition with the Elections Committee to disqualify the broadcast. Likewise, the Labor Facebook group 'Russian Street, corner of Labor' started a petition against this broadcast: http://www.atzuma.co.il/antishas

If you want to read more about it, this is a really interesting article:

http://www.haaretz.com/news/israeli-elections-2013/israeli-elections-opinion-analysis/shas-election-ads-using-jewish-conversion-for-incitement.premium-1.492923

-Naomi, an Israeli