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.

Ahh, diplomacy Name calling

 

Did one of the sycophants of the current incompetent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue actually call Israel's prime minister chicken manure (in a slightly less genteel word)?

Or, as a few have suggested, is the remark a figment of an anti-Israel Jew's imagination?

Having worked in a "lul," a chicken house for both chicks and layers, trust me, I know the foul smell of fowl feces.

The only manure smell worse than chicken poop is that of green feces from a new born. I have three children - now adults - and a grand-daughter so I am acquainted with that smell, too.

My personal opinion of Israel's prime minister is only slightly higher than my opinion of the U.S. president, which is to say on a scale of 1 to 10, both are in negative numbers. It's not a matter of party; I appreciated Harry S Truman and LBJ and, when I lived in Holon, I was 100% behind Begin. All three were, in my opinion, honest men who were true to their beliefs and worked for the betterment of their nations (although with LBJ, sometimes it was hard to determine).

Israel's PM reminds me of a wind sock at an airport; it moves whichever way the wind blows. The PM, of course, uses pollsters to determine which way the political winds are blowing: build on Jewish land today; tear down the homes built yesterday on Jewish land. (I have to wonder; does the PM have a financial interest in construction and demolition companies?)

As for as Washington goes, the U.S. has a president who has managed to hide his history from the people. No birth certificate. No college transcripts. We know he has no military service, not even pseudo-military in the National Guard a la Bush 2.

Compare that with Israel's PM. We know what he is - a Jew, perhaps not as observant as some would like, perhaps more observant than others prefer. According to a bio at http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-netanyahu-9421908#early-years, Benjamin Netanyahu was born on October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, Israel and grew up in Jerusalem. He spent most of his teen years living in the Philadelphia area, where his father, noted Jewish historian Benzion Netanyahu, worked as a professor. In 1967, he returned to Israel to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces' elite unit, "Sayeret Matkal," and took part in a number of military operations, including the dramatic 1972 rescue of a hijacked Sebana passenger jet.

The entry at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/netanyahu.html states: Following his discharge (from the IDF), Netanyahu studied at MIT in Boston and received a B.S. in architecture and an M.S. in Management Studies. He also studied political science at MIT and Harvard University. In 1976, he was employed by the Boston Consulting Group, an international business consulting firm, where he befriended future American Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

While the PM's bio may be as fabricated as the U.S. president's, no one so far has proved it less than honest; I would trust members of Israel's left-wing and Moslem parties to uncover any falsehoods and broadcast them to the world.

We know the incompetent in D.C. is influenced by America-hating preachers and by Muslims and their money; we know that even his Jewish lackeys such as Democratic National Chair, US. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, put the president above her constituents. (Those Jews in her district who wanted anything accomplished on their behalf knew to turn to the congressman in the next district over, retired Army Col. Allen West . West was gerrymandered out of his seat.

I won't call the occupier of the White House "chicken manure" as his people refer to Israel's PM, but I will suggest that since he's been in office, Washington has generated an unprecedented about of bovine excrement regarding both domestic and foreign policy; actually the lack thereof. The only contemporary man who gives the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue competition for "America's Worst President" is Jimmy Carter.

The reason I have hope for the future is that I know "this, too, shall change." The change will HAVE to be for the better.

G-d, Jerusalem, and the DNC

 

According to Agence France Presse (AFP), "President Barack Obama was the one who on Wednesday ordered his Democratic party to reinsert references to G-d and Jerusalem in their party platform, AFP reported.

"The report hinted that the move was not too pleasing to party members.

"A campaign official told AFP that the president, who has been hammered by Republicans who see him as too tough on Israel, personally intervened to have language on Jerusalem, a feature of past party platforms, restored. "

The AFP article also noted that when the delegates were asked to vote to include G-d and Jerusalem, the "nays" (against inclusion) appeared to match the "ayes."

See the CNN video at http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2012/09/05/delegates-oppose-adding-god-jerusalem-platform/; there is a 30-second commercial to ignore before the vote video commences.

Now comes the interesting part.

Who is in chair of the DNC?

A person who claims, on her government Web site biography, to be the "The first Jewish Congresswoman ever elected from Florida," Representative Debbie Wassermann-Schultz.

Rep. Wasserman-Schultz' claim to Jewish fame is that she "introduced a resolution, which passed the House of Representatives and called on the President to declare an annual Jewish American Heritage Month."

Rep. Wasserman-Schultz seems - based on her response to constituents' appeals for assistance regarding Israel issues - to limit herself to introducing non-essential resolutions in Congress. When asked to help a local family cut bureaucratic red tape to allow the family's son-in-law to join his American bride, she ignored the appeal.

Congressman Allen West, the Republican in the adjacent congressional district, did manage to cut through the State Department's continuing anti-Jewish and anti-Israel delaying tactics.

Given her apparent unwillingness to touch anything "Israel" and the absence of both G-d and Jerusalem in the DNC platform, it's no surprise that Obama had to insist on inserting the changes.

But one has to suspect that Obama only is giving lip service to the Jerusalem plank since on July 26, 2012, White House press secretary Jay Carney repeatedly refused to answer journalists' demands to know if Obama felt Jerusalem should be recognized by the US as Israel's capital. (See http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/07/26/whs_carney_refuses_to_name_the_capital_of_israel.html.)

According to Democratic National Convention Chairman and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the measure to add G-d and Jerusalem as Israel's capital to the party platform requires a two-third affirmative vote.

Villaraigosa called for a voice vote not once, not twice, but three times and each time it seemed that the delegates were equally split. Villaraigosa, declared the motion passed anyway. (See the CNN video, link in fifth paragraph, above.)

From a Jewish perspective, from an Israeli perspective, the initial lack of inclusion of G-d and Jerusalem-as-Israel's-capital, coupled with the Obama spokesman's refusal to answer journalists' questions regarding Jerusalem as Israel's capital would indicate that, if Obama is re-elected, he will continue to distance himself from Israel while continuing to cozy up to Israel's sworn enemies. Another four years of Obama does not bode well for Israel or for Jews, at least observant Jews.

Admittedly, we should not be "one-issue" voters and social concerns need to be considered.

The Democrats contend that if Romney moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Medicare will go away and women's rights will be violated.

Unless something is done soon, Medicare WILL go away; what the GOP is proposing is a change in Medicare that will impact people LESS THAN 55 years old. They won't loose Medicare, it just will be a different approach.

As for cancelling Roe vs. Wade, that is not an executive branch option; that is a matter for Congress and the Supremes. Indeed, domestically, there is not much the executive branch CAN do.

As far as Jerusalem-as-Israel's-capital goes, the best thing ANY president can do is to follow the 1995 Congressional mandate to MOVE THE EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM.

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Embassy_Act:

The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995is a public law of the United States passed by the 104th Congress on October 23, 1995. It was passed for the purposes of initiating and funding the relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no later than May 31, 1999, and attempted to withhold 50 percent of the funds appropriated to the State Department specifically for ‘‘Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad’’ as allocated in fiscal year 1999 until the United States Embassy in Jerusalem had officially opened