Opuscula Why don't Israeli Politicians listen To constituents?

 

BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO; their loyalty - if they have any - is to the party bosses, not the voters.

ONE OF THE REASONS I came back to the States is because in the U.S. I have local representatives to the state and federal governments.

Admittedly, some representatives to the U.S. congress - such as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (¹) - only represent Big Bucks contributors (²), but as I learned, there are other representatives to whom her constituents can turn. Every U.S. citizen also can turn to their state's senator.

The "American way" may not be the best, but at least the person "representing" the constituent must - at a minimum - pretend to live in the district they are supposed to represent.

IN ISRAEL, the majority of Members of Knesset (MKs) live in or around Jerusalem or Tel Aviv's "better" sections. (When last checked, none resided in South Tel Aviv near the illegal immigrants who terrorized the neighborhood.) In my time, one lived in Bet Shean in the Jordan Valley, another lived in Kiryat Shmona in the north. (I had a positive personal experience with David Levy, but I had to travel to Bet Shean to meet with him. I had "Vitamin P" from my father-in-law who lived in the same sekun.)

Rather than having a local representative to Knesset, citizens have to find a like-minded - read "same party" - MK or know what "portfolio" the MK holds or wants to hold. True, as in the U.S., money talks, but most Israelis - myself included - are not Rothchilds who can afford to rent - if not buy - an Israeli politician.

Israel tried, and the politicians quickly discarded the idea, having the prime minister candidates run separate from the party lists.

In Israel, before the attempt and again now, the party functionaries determine who will lead their party's 60-member list. There need not be any connection between what the rank-and-file want and that the party leaders want (much like the 2016 pre-convention GOP leadership that wants (wanted?) to "Dump Trump" even though he is (was) popular with the rank-and-file (³). If, on the eve of the election, the party's most popular vote-getter displeases the party power brokers, the once "top of the list" candidate may slip to the bottom of the list - number 60.

Unlike the U.S. president, until today there are no term limits for prime minister, albeit there is talk among the "out" parties of trying to set a two-term limit. There is no term limit for MKs; the perks are too good for such a bill even to reach discussion stage.

Another difference I found disconcerting was the mingling of powers. Unlike the U.S. where there is - at least in theory - separation of the executive (president, vice president, and cabinet) and the legislative (U.S. House and Senate). The Supreme Court in both counties seems to want to make laws on its own even though that is not its prerogative.

1. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ is an American politician. She is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 23rd congressional district, a member of the Democratic Party and the Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

2.

AN ISRAELI-AMERICAN couple turned to Wassermann Schultz for assistance. Her office ignored them; not even acknowledging their appeal. A letter to then-Representative Allen West produced an immediate response and a rapid resolution to the couple's problem.

3. PROVING DIRECT ELECTIONS need to replace the current "convention" and "electoral college" republican form of government for a truly democratic directly elected government. Note both "republican" and "democratic" are lower case and NOT to be confused with the political parties of the same names.

Party, not people The elections are coming, The elections are coming

 

By the time this is uploaded a date may have been set for elections to Israel's Knesset, and with that, the prime minister.

If politicians hurry, the bill to ban anti-Israeli politicians such as Haneen Zoabi and Ahmad Tibi, both of the Balad party, will still be in consideration so these two will very likely be returned to a government that they would like to overthrow. Only in Israel.

Hurry or not, from a "modern" American's perspective, Israeli elections are a throw-back to the U.S.' Reconstruction period.

Then, and even into the 1940s in some U.S. states, it was possible to pull one lever or mark one box to vote a party's entire slate.

If the election's between a jackass and a Republican, vote for the jackass. (I'm sure the Republicans had similar words for Democrats.)

As far as I know, even in the so-called "deep south" (Mississippi, Alabama, and parts of several other states) the "vote a party slate" option is gone; history.

That doesn't mean some people don't vote a "straight" ticket - all candidates of one party, but I suspect that now most voters - certainly those who bother to study the candidates and issues - vote a split ticket, voting for whomever the voter feels aligns closest with his or her political leanings.

Only the president and vice-president are "bundled," and that makes sense. (That was not always the case.)

In Israel, voters vote by party, the old "one lever/one check box" ballot the U.S. discarded years ago.

IN THEORY the candidates at the top of the party list have the best chance of being seated in the Knesset. No party ever has taken it all.

IN TRUTH, the candidate at the top of the list the day before the elections, and a primary reason a voter selected a party, may be demoted from #1 to #60 by the time the ballots are counted. There is no guarantee than pre-election's #1 will be post-election's #1.

An American living overseas as a permanent resident or dual national can vote for U.S. president. The state and local elections are limited to those people living in those areas. The ex-pat voter is deprived of a senator and representative, but since the voter doesn't live in the community, they shouldn't need a senator or representative (although we all know that's not exactly true).

An Israeli living overseas can vote - as can all Israelis - for the party of his or her choice. Most Members of Knesset (MKs) live in/around Jerusalem or in/around Tel Aviv; the rare MK lives in the hinterlands (Bet Shean, Kiryat Shemona, etc.). Bottom line: Unless you live near the MK, getting the MK's attention may be, and often is, an exercise in futility.

But then voters in Israel don't vote for candidates, they vote for a party.

Because I am accustomed to the U.S.' "vote by candidate" I never felt comfortable voting for people about whom I knew nothing. I was personally acquainted David Levy, but I lacked acquaintenance or knowledge of other members who shared the Likud ticket with Levy.

As in the U.S., "Vitamin 'P', "protekzia," or "who you know" generally is the key to getting anything accomplished. Of course if the MK who could help you belongs to another party . . . Again, just as it is in the U.S.

TRUE STORY Some apolitical friends of mine live in Debbie Wasserman-Schultz' congressional district. She was then, as now, chair of the Democratic National Committee, a power position. My Jewish friends turned to her as their Representative - who happens to be Jewish - and were ignored. I suggested that they contact now former Representative Allen West, a Republican in a neighboring district. He responded and took care of their issue. Then he was gerrymandered* out of his seat.

I could vote in the upcoming Israeli elections but I won't. I don't know the candidates on each party ticket, not even the "Top 10" who - depending on party, might make it into the Knesset.

It helps that in the U.S. there are only two major parties and a handful of smaller parties and independents.

Even England, on which Israeli politics are loosely based, has two or three main parties; Members of Parliament (MPs) are expected to have some physical connection with the district they allegedly represent.

I'm a spoiled American who simply cannot accommodate Israeli politics. I tried. I failed.

 

* GERRYMANDER

The word gerrymander (originally written Gerry-mander) was used for the first time in the Boston Gazette on 26 March 1812. The word was created in reaction to a redrawing of Massachusetts Congressional election districts under the then-governor Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814). In 1812, Governor Gerry signed a bill that redistricted Massachusetts to benefit his Democratic-Republican Party. When mapped, one of the contorted districts in the Boston area was said to resemble the shape of a salamander.

Gerrymander is a portmanteau of the governor's last name and the word salamander. The redistricting was a notable success. In the 1812 election, both the Massachusetts House and governorship were won by Federalists by a comfortable margin (costing Gerry his seat), but the senate remained firmly in Democratic-Republican hands.