Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
etc., and have placed themselves<br />
politically to the right of the Likud.<br />
And what happened in the left?<br />
– It is becoming “Centre”.<br />
The term “Centre-Left” is being used<br />
in every election covered since 2013. It<br />
was used to describe Yesh Atid in the<br />
2013, then again in 2015 describing<br />
Yesh Atid, but also the Labor party<br />
and Kulanu. And now it describes<br />
about five parties. And I really<br />
wonder what does centre mean? If we<br />
look at the new combined list running<br />
for the Knesset (and latest polls<br />
anticipating they’ll get the majority<br />
of votes) - “Kachol Lavan”, a joint<br />
list combining “Chosen L’Israel”,<br />
Gantz’s party, Telem, Ashkenazi’s party<br />
and “Yesh Atid” led by Lapid, It is<br />
very clear that this is a left party that<br />
doesn’t want to be affiliated with the<br />
classic left party in Israel (Avoda). This<br />
is not due to an ideological gap, but<br />
more for PR reasons. If you look at<br />
the policies espoused by Gantz when<br />
he was the Joint Chief of Staff, and<br />
the policies of Yesh Atid when they<br />
spearheaded the Health, Education<br />
and Treasury ministries, it's very<br />
clear where they stand and it’s very<br />
much to the left. The definition of<br />
“centre” is purely hoping that right<br />
and left voters will be convinced to<br />
vote for them. And the latest polls<br />
suggest this stunt is actually working.<br />
On the one hand we have the right<br />
parties who it seems are steering<br />
further to the right, and competing<br />
about who’ll make Israel more<br />
Jewish and more religious, and on<br />
the other hand we have the left<br />
parties that are masking themselves<br />
as “centre”, hoping to attract more<br />
and more voters under the slogan<br />
“no more right, no more left”.<br />
But I think they got it right (pun<br />
intended) on one thing- the elections<br />
are no longer about right or left- at<br />
least not in the ideological sense.<br />
Like many other countries, Israel’s<br />
political campaign is about the<br />
“people” running for office - the<br />
leaders of parties have become the<br />
political equivalent of celebrities.<br />
It’s no longer about what they say<br />
and whether they mean it or notit's<br />
about the fact that they said<br />
something. And more importantlytweeted<br />
it, posted it and tagged<br />
whoever they wanted to react to that.<br />
So, on the 9th <strong>April</strong> <strong>2019</strong>, Israel<br />
won’t be voting “left or right”,<br />
it will be voting for the most<br />
popular leader or leaders.<br />
MASORTI MINYAN<br />
TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS<br />
6:45AM<br />
12
Change language