Voting my conscience & for a better future
Voting my conscience & for a better future
A few people have asked me about my vote in this election. Not sure why, but since you asked.... In brief TLDR (אמל״ק): 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬/𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧/𝐎𝐳 (המילואימניקים - ״די״ - https://www.themiluimnikim.org.il/?) because:
(a) They best 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬;
(b) I believe they 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝; and
(c) an 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 dealmaker/bridge-maker with 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, whose 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 I support, may be key to the future of our politics and communal fabric.
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Some detail, including notes below for those interested in more (and for gluttons for punishment, welcome to DM me )":
1. 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 but helps to understand general trends. HaMiluimnikim/Calcalistim/Oz (”Reservists/Economists/Strength”) look like they will pass the electoral threshold. If you’re hesitating because of the threshold issue, see below.*
2. I believe in 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. I don’t believe in throwing votes away – but a party which best represents my principles and promotes the policies I want to see our government pursue which is polling around the threshold deserves my vote. More on that below. **
3. As I wrote recently to Chaya, I am neither in the ‘anyone but Bibi’ camp nor in the ‘only Bibi’ camp. I respect him and my reasons for refusing to vote for the Likud this time are simple and 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 and the personality-based political rivalries which have hijacked our party-and-platform-based electoral system.
I (and many other moderates I know) are fed up with Bibi and the Likud’s kowtowing to his 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 simply to keep his coalition alive. I hold the Haredi community leadership – religious and political – responsible for much of the divisions in our society; they should have announced on October 8 that they were 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞-𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞, whether in the military or otherwise. That’s on them. (And I very much respect and appreciate the new 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 - exactly what’s needed now though what a shame it’s coming from the ground up, like the 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢 𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 these past few years, rather than from the political or religious leadership of the Haredi community.)
But the Likud– led by Bibi – should not have allowed the situation to develop where numerous times the 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝, including in the most recent legislative actions. We have come to the end of our tether, and cannot vote them in again for more of the same. More on that below as well. ***
4. For the record, though 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬 – in Gaza, as well as in Judea and Samaria – are our first priorities (and all of the mainstream parties are agreed that we must continue or expand our defensive military operations, across-the-board, including an insistence on disarming and dismantling Hamas both in Gaza and J&S) – my first priority after that is the issue of 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞. That doesn’t mean only legislation; but an electorate which proves with its votes that this is a priority helps to convince the Haredi leadership of the urgency of this issue, something a vote for Likud will not accomplish. The Reservists are serious about this issue and will work to negotiate with the Haredi political & religious leadership (and with that of the Arab sector as well) to finally resolve this open sore in our society.
5. On these issues, and most of the others, the Reservists can play a 𝐩𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 in pressing not only for a 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, but for the 𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 which in fact the Likud (and most if not all the non-Haredi and non-Arab parties) support but have been unable to enact due to pressure from the Haredim and other small coalition parties which carry more weight than their electorate represents.
It’s a bit of an ironic argument, but if our system provides 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 over governing coalitions, I’d prefer that power rest with a group of people I 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭, and whose principles reflect my own, rather than a 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐙𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 from our society’s minority sectors promoting only their own interests rather than those of our nation and state. This was true when I was working with Natan Sharansky and supported our 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜, 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 Yisrael B’Aliya party, and remains true today.
6. None of this would prevent either the Religious Zionism or the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) parties – or for that matter, even the Democratim – from 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. But it does send an important message to the Likud as well as the new (and perhaps soon-to-fade-away? Like Kadima, Yesh Atid, and Blue & White etc) Yashar party. (I’ve written before about how the majority of Israelis agree on the majority of strategic issues - like in this article from 2016, still accurate today.)
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* One of the biggest (and most common) mistakes Israeli voters make is 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 in favor of a “larger party,” believing that this is a smarter (and more “strategic”) choice. Why is this a mistake?
Voters who believe in a small party and what it has to offer, but nevertheless choose to vote for other parties they identify with less, create a 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐲, especially for parties that are just at the electoral threshold. Polling is supposed to predict results but too often actually affects (infects) those results.
Worse still, Israel’s political graveyard is full of large and medium-sized parties that urged voters to support them solely on the basis of the “large party” argument, only to lose the opportunity to form a government precisely because they weakened the smaller parties they needed to build a coalition. Or these larger parties refuse to join a centrist coalition due to opposition to sitting with a particular leader (ie. Tzippi Livni’s unforgivable refusal to have Kadima sit with Likud under Netanyahu - unforgivable not least as their policy prescriptions were virtually identical at the time - it was 100% personal).
So voting for a small party is also a rational choice. Not only is the Reservists crossing the electoral threshold in most polls, but a vote for them will help ensure that all the other people who currently support them also receive the political representation they want. In this sense, a marginal vote for די is a vote that is “worth more,” because it helps push the party across the electoral threshold, which translates into (at least) four seats in the Knesset.
** Full disclosure: Einat Wilf is a personal friend whom I have known for over 20 years. She is one of the most intelligent, articulate, honest and wise people I know, in politics or out (tho I do not agree with everything she says or does - if that needs noting). At first, I was disappointed when her party (Oz) joined with the Reservists; and I have some reservations about the party leadership and some of their policies. But when I list and rank the issues which are most important to me - 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐬𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐭𝐲, 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦, 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, the Reservists party best reflects my policy preferences and priorities.
In the past, I have voted similarly, according to similar evaluations of the 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 of the parties running, and have voted over the past 40 years quite literally across the political spectrum. Once, I voted for a party that didn’t cross the threshold, and I am still comfortable with that decision. I don’t think that will be the case here, and I am certainly comfortable urging others to vote for the Reservists (די).
*** Bibi has been in power longer than any other leader of any democracy, ever. For virtually all the past 30 years, he has either been Prime Minister, finance minister, or leader of the opposition or other roles. He has also not encouraged – but rather actively discouraged – 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐮𝐝. And the Likud has tolerated this. Enough already. It would’ve been better had he stepped aside and allowed others to lead in the run-up to this election, but that itself as mentioned is part of the problem. (Were Nir Barkat already heading the party, for instance, which itself would indicate a new direction, I would happily continue to support it.) One can feel this, strongly, while still admiring Netanyahu for his many contributions, recognizing that he is certainly capable of continuing successfully, and without being part of the ‘anyone but Bibi’ crowd. Which, not incidentally, is a reason to support the Reservists.
(And btw - few called for Roosevelt’s resignation after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or for George W. Bush‘s resignation after 9/11, or Tony Blair’s after 7/7 in London. Yes, the buck stops there and Bibi and the current government should have taken more responsibility for the failures that led to October 7; but it’s a wild exaggeration to suggest that that’s a primary reason to punish them at the polls, as if the entire country and security establishment over the past 3 decades, Left & Right - including Oslo & the Disengagement fiascos - weren’t a large part of our incredible failure and as if our actions alone account for - or could prevent - that terrifying demonstration of Jihadist Islamist ideology.)
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I am very hopeful that the Reservists will not only join a government after this election, but be instrumental in pulling together the Likud and Yashar into one strong 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 – if not “unity“ – government which can בע״ה 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲, 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲, 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧. (Read my recent book about the latter - Finding Peace in the Promised Land, available on Amazon.)
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