Israel is about to go to its fourth general election within two years, a record that beats even the Italians. Yet we have not learned Albert Einstein’s dictum, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” It is the stubborn irresponsible selfishness of our politicians that causes unnecessary time, effort and most importantly, expense at a time when we can least afford it in the hope of the opposition that “perhaps this time we shall form the government!’
This brings me to the vexed question of the law under which our legislators are appointed and also who determines the criteria applied for selection. The second part is easy, particularly for new parties that have no large membership base in order to vote in primaries or have not even a central committee – and there are always new parties at each election. It is simply at the whim of the leader who selects those who he believes to be closest to his or her political views. In other words, the yes-men and women or those who already bring with them a large following and votes. It’s often musical chairs.
Very basically explained, according to Article 4 of the Basic Law, the entire country of Israel serves as one electoral zone in terms of allocation of Knesset seats. Parties submit their lists of candidates to be elected in the order in which they appear on the list.
The position is often in return for favors or an inducement to bring their following to the party. Lists that pass the qualifying electoral threshold, which is 3.25% of the total valid votes cast, receive the number of Knesset seats which is proportional to their electoral strength. This is done by dividing the number of valid votes cast for the lists by 120, which is the number of Knesset seats. That way it is determined how many votes entitle a seat.
This method is far from democratic because the electorate are the party leaders and not the voters who have no representation. What happened to the slogan “No taxation without representation”? In any case, different parts of the country have different requirements, different necessities and there should, therefore, be several constituencies to allow their representatives to advocate for their area needs, be it urban or rural, industrial or agricultural. There should not be only one constituency for the whole country.
There are political parties that advocate for particular interest groups and others that declare to be representing the wider community.
We are not a multicultural society as is claimed by some, because being Jewish is the principle culture that all of us have in common, Arabs excepted. However we are a society that came from different social and specifically political backgrounds. That is why all these experiences and ideas have to be taken into consideration when governing our country.
Looking at the list of candidates submitted by the parties for this election, it is conspicuously noticeable that there are no real so-called Anglos who have been selected for any of the parties. Are they not considered as capable as those from other population sectors?
I suggest that it is the Anglos’ innate knowledge of democratic government that incorporates the power of the voters to choose their representatives, presenting a threat to the comfortable, often corrupt merry-go-round of an elite that has increasingly taken hold of our government institutions.
Israel is a member of the Western world and it is therefore high time to discard the Middle East mentality. To understand that the cultural, intellectual and economic contributions of our half a million Anglos must be recognized and reflected in government. As I have reiterated in the past, until there is a change from the Knesset old guard, we shall remain in the same untenable situation that generates instability and frequent elections.
But would Knesset members want to vote for more responsibility and accountability? Not until at least a proportionate number of Anglos are in responsible government positions.
The author, at 97, is the world’s oldest active journalist and radio host. He presents Walter’s World on Israel National Radio (Arutz 7) and The Walter Bingham File on Israel Newstalk Radio. Both are in English.