Politics - Israeli Style Bring back Flatto Sharon

 

WITH ALL THE SCANDALS attached to Israeli politicians today I yearn for the days when an honest crook ran for, and won, a seat in the Knesset (Israeli parliament).

The last "honest" politician was Shmuel Flatto Sharon (sometimes Flatto-Sharon).

According to Wikipedia, the Polish-born, raised in France Flatto Sharon arrived in Israel in 1975, just ahead of the French authorities who wanted him for allegedly embezzling $60 million.

Despite almost a complete lack of Hebrew and no established party backing, his "Flatto Sharon" party won two seats in the 1977 Knesset.

Flatto Sharon never denied the was a crook or that the reason he ran for the Knesset seat was to avoid extradition to France.

His one term in the Knesset was his first and last.

Flatto Sharon later was convicted of buying votes to win election; he did community service for his crime.

ISRAEL HAS at last count at least 24 parties, although some are so small that their impact mostly is to draw off votes from one of the major parties, of which there are a baker's dozen, including the Arab (Muslim) parties. So much for apartheid and inequality.

The Wikipedia entry continues that Flatto-Sharon is now an established multi-millionaire and works as a radio talk-show host; his show, named Flatto Bli Heshbon (Flatto without accountability) is broadcast on numerous stations, including Radius 100, Lev HaMedina, Radio Haifa and Radio Darom FM.

Flatto Sharon is out of politics, but he is hardly out of sight - or sound.

He gave an interview to the Jerusalem Post in 2006 where he told the reporter " I want to arm every one of Israel's friends with the intellectual weapons for its defense."

The Post article continues:

It is perhaps no wonder, then, that his current radio show, "Platto bli heshbon" (roughly translated as "Flatto, no holds barred") is broadcast on several local stations, and has a wide following. This he attributes to his no-nonsense, "telling it like it is" confrontations with politicians - a format that recently got him into trouble of another sort: being taken off the air for two weeks for calling certain Arab MKs "traitors."

Flatto Sharon's take on the Israel bashing is similar to this scrivener's. According to him, I've had the idea for years. Now it seemed more urgent.

Communications is the one area in which Israel is a failure. In every other realm we excel. In fact, everything else we touch in this country turns to gold. There's no other country like it.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

A couple of months after the establishment of the state in 1948, there was a first official visit by the king and queen of Indonesia. A few hours before their plane arrived, suddenly it dawned on [the welcoming committee] that there were no flowers to give to the queen. A plane was immediately sent to Cyprus to get a bouquet for her. That's because there were no flowers in this country.

A mere 15 years later, Israel had become one of the largest exporters of flowers in the world.

Then there's the military. Not only is the IDF considered the best army in the world, but Israel used to have to rely on the United States for arms. Gradually, we began manufacturing our own arms; since then, we have become the third largest exporter of arms in the world.

The same goes for the diamond industry. I could go on endlessly with examples like this. Israel really is a magical country. In all of history, there never was a people who accomplished what we have achieved here.

So I ask you: A people who is capable of such wonders can't manage to convey a simple message? In that area, we're a bunch of idiots. Maybe it's not that we're a "bunch of idiots," but that there's no way to convey Israel's message to an anti-Semitic world? I don't believe that. In the first place, if you allow an initial lie to go unchallenged, it becomes perpetuated. It's like drugs that get into the bloodstream - it's hard to flush them out.

Maybe it's time for the honest crook to revive his one-person party and stand once again for a seat in the Knesset. He probably wouldn't have to buy votes this time, given the in-fighting in the "major" parties.

Immature system Israel HaYom debate Illustrates the problem

 

There is a debate in the Knesset - Israel's parliament - about allowing a free-distribution newspaper to continue as a free distribution newspaper.

Israel HaYom's email/web edition for Sunday, November 16, 2014, included a head that read: Israel Hayom, tomorrow and forever!. One paragraph in the article caught my attention:

We regret the behavior of the MKs who supported this bill in its preliminary reading. The bill represents a serious blow to democracy, and the Israeli Knesset became the only parliament in the democratic world to have backed, even in just a preliminary reading, a bill that, if enacted, would interfere with the free market, reach into the public's pockets and impose a single ideological line on society. MKs who support this bill have turned their backs on their constituents.

The editorial writer blames the bill on a competitor paid-circulation newspaper; the truth of that accusation is subject to debate.

There are a number of problems with the Israeli form of government, at least from the perspective of a U.S. voter.

If a Republican and a jackass run for office, vote for the jackass

FIRST, in Israel voters vote for a party list, not individuals.

The party places its chosen few on a list, with the most marketable candidates at the top of the list.

For a brief period Israel tried electing the prime minister separately from the rest of the Knesset, but while popular with the people it was quickly discontinued by the professional politicians.

The higher on the list, the greater chance the candidate has of gaining a seat in the Knesset - IF the party doesn't rearrange the list after the votes are countered.

In the not-so-long-ago in many U.S. states, voters could vote by ticket; pull one lever and the vote was cast for all candidates of the particular party. Back in the day, the U.S. really had only two parties represented on the ballot by their cartoon identities. The statement above, "If a Republican runs against a jackass…" was often heard in rural (and sometimes not so rural) America. Unfortunately, some people still vote a "straight" ticket, never mind the quality of the candidates.

Bottom line: The Israeli voter is voting an ideology. While Israel has no lack of political parties, it's possible a voter cares about more than a single issue and there are candidates that would better represent the voter in specific issues.

Knesset members live where?

Voters in the Several States elect two senators from every state, and a number of representatives based on the state's population. The senators may live any place in the state they represent. The representatives must live within the district from which they were elected.

Because they are relatively local to the voter base, the representatives, more than the senators, are supposed to be responsive to all voters' appeals. (That isn't always the case; in my district the representative ignores appeals from Israeli-Americans while rubber stamping everything her boss puts forth.)

Usually the "representative in the neighborhood" works out well for all - both the politician (who gets re-elected) and to the voter who has a voice.

In Israel, most - not all, but most - Knesset members live in or near Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. There was a deputy prime minister - David Levy - who lived in Bet Shean, and there was another Knesset member who lived in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, but they were the exceptions to the rule.

Transparency in blogging

For many years I worked in U.S. newspapers; first as a printer, then as a reporter, and finally as an editor. Israel HaYom, despite being free, is a newspaper - as versus a "shopper" that is more than 70% advertising. (By the way, ALL commercial media is supported by advertising, not the number of issues sold or listeners listening/ viewers viewing.)

I also lived and worked in Israel, both in the hinterlands (Zefat) and in the Tel Aviv metro area (Ramat Aviv, Holon). I have relatives in Yavne, Haifa, and Bet Shean so I have first hand experience with Israeli politics.

Two of the hardest things for a person who grew up in the U.S. to accommodate are the Israeli political system - based on, but hardly identical to, England's system - and the number and frequency of strikes.

Israel may not have more strikes than in the U.S., but most U.S. strikes are localized and there are many alternative products from competitors. The U.S. government, when it has strong leadership, also is more likely to take action in a strike that has a nationwide impact (e.g., most recently the air traffic controller's strike).

I won't suggest the U.S. political system is perfect, but for this scrivener, it certainly is superior to England's and Israel's.