Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
The big day is tomorrow. It is all anyone is talking about and it is very exciting. I will finally be getting a haircut. This is a big deal as it will be my first time doing this in Israel. I have been using the same person in NYC for over 6 years and she seems to have disappeared, so I have to bite the bullet. I am actually very nervous about this. It is sort of like switching dentists or I imagine gynecologists.
Also, tomorrow I will participate in my first Israeli election. Everyone here asks you who you are voting for. In the USA most people don't. You know if your friends are Democrats or Republicans and that is usually how you vote. The only exception to this unspoken rule was the last presidential election. Everyone wanted to know if I voted for Trump. I did not. I voted for the Libertarian candidate but his name escapes me.
He lost.
In the USA when you vote for president it doesn't really count unless you live in what is known as a battlefield state. These are Pennsylvania,Ohio, Wisconsin,Florida and possibly Michigan. These are really the only states that matter because of that electoral college thing which I don't want to go into now.
Israel has something different but your vote counts a bit more here. We have a Parliamentary Democracy in which you vote for a party. Each party is allocated a number of seats ( out of 120) commensurate to the amount of votes received.
There is a minimum to get in. If you don't hit it , the losing party can designate which other party will get their votes. This is known as a spillover agreement. Unfortunately I can not find who has an agreement with who anywhere.
No matter, we are a day away and I am still undecided. There are about 13 parties who are projected to win seats. I thought I would vote for one of those but today the Times of Israel posted and article explaining the platforms of all the parties running. https://www.timesofisrael.com/whos-running-and-what-for-tois-guide-to-the-41-parties-that-want-your-vote/ . Now that I read this I am even more confused because there are 39 parties in the article.
Some are intriguing, for example:
Tzomet - there used to be a party with this name but this isn't it. It is headed up by Oren Hazon. He was a Likud MK ( member of the Knesset) that is best known for running off his mouth and taking a selfie with Donald Trump. He doesn't really have a platform and could't even think of an original name, but I sense the Knesset might be a boring place without him.
Justice for all Party - an interesting name until you realize that they are talking about animals. I think we have bigger fish to fry ( sorry for the bad joke)
Yashar- They have an interesting concept. They want to develop an app and have all governmental decisions made by polls. Should haredim go to the army? Please press 1 for yes 2 for no and 3 if your not sure. The best thing about these guys is their campaign picture which is the leaders of the all the major parties giving the Israeli public the middle finger.
Na Nach - This is a party of Breslov hasidim whose chairman is Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. He has been dead for over two hundred years. I am guessing they have no new ideas.
Simply Love - a joint Arab and Jewish party that asks the question' why can't we all just get along'
and then there is the party with the best name - The Pirates, Led by the Internet, a Ballot for Diarrhea. I am not sure what they believe in and the name isn't even all that good though I surmise it might be losing something in the translation
Although some of these are interesting I decided to be a bit more pragmatic. It will be almost impossible for BB not to be the next prime minister. In order to form a government you need 61 MK's. He has the support for this and his main competition , the Blue and White Party, does not.
I don't want to vote for him, for many reasons, so I will decide to vote for the person who I think will be his biggest pain in the ass that he must include in his coalition. There are many candidates for that position and that is why my choice is so hard.
To narrow them down I decided to compare slogans. I will list some of the parties and their best slogan
Blue and White - 'Israel before everything'
New Right - 'New Right vs. Weak left'
Union of right wing parties - ' more committed'
Kulanu - ' only Kahlon cares'
Israel is our home - ' both right and secular'
and the best
Shas - 'You have a father in heaven. It is a mitzvah to vote for Shas'
With the last one you are at least getting something tangible for your vote.
Still not sure but will keep you posted
Wish me luck