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Israel Election (2021) Special ‘Who I Am Voting for on 23 March’

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Israel Election (2021) Special ‘Who I Am Voting for on 23 March’ Israel Election (2021) Special ‘Who I am voting for on 23 March’ CALEV BEN-DOR INTRODUCTION FLEUR HASSAN-NAHOUM ‘WHY I AM VOTING FOR LIKUD’ TERRY NEWMAN ‘WHY I AM VOTING FOR YESH ATID’ EMMANUEL NAVON ‘WHY I AM VOTING FOR NEW HOPE’ PETER LERNER ‘WHY I AM VOTING FOR LABOUR’ MK ODED FORER ‘WHY I AM VOTING FOR YISRAEL BEITEINU’ GULI DOLEV-HASHILONI ‘WHY I AM VOTING FOR THE ARAB JOINT LIST’ SHRAGA ALWEISS ‘WHY I AM VOTING FOR YAMINA’ ITTAY FLESCHER ‘WHY I AM (RELUCTANTLY) VOTING FOR MERETZ’ 1 Indispensable reading for anyone who wishes to understand Middle Eastern politics; well researched, balanced, deeply committed to Israel but equally reading to ask tough questions about its policies; a unique combination of values and realpolitik. Shlomo Avineri, Professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Fathom is a great publication that I thoroughly enjoy and always find useful. Hussein Agha has been involved in Palestinian politics for almost half a century. He was an Academic Visitor at St. Antony’s College, Oxford and is co-author of A Framework for a Palestinian National Security Doctrine. Fathom’s great: accessible and expert analysis on strategic, cultural and economic issues relating to Israel. Amidst a lot of a sloganeering, Fathom provides nuanced discussion. As such, it fills a real gap. Amnon Rubinstein, Israeli law scholar, politician, and columnist. A member of the Knesset between 1977 and 2002, he served in several ministerial positions. The importance of the Israel/Palestine conflict for world peace is sometimes exaggerated, but for those of us focused on the conflict, for those of us who hope for peace here, even amidst the surrounding chaos, ‘two states for two peoples’ remains the necessary guiding idea. Fathom magazine is one of the key places where that idea is explained and defended; it deserves our strongest support. Michael Walzer, Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and editorial board member of Dissent magazine. Fathom has become a highly respected, leading publication of both in-depth analysis of fundamental developments and trends in the Middle East alongside serious studies of key events and trends that characterise the fast changing domestic Israeli scene. Fathom has become the platform where several hundreds of thousands of readers learn, debate and disagree, but never fail to read every word printed. Efraim Halevy was director of Mossad and head of the Israeli National Security Council. For objective insights into Israeli politics, society and its relations with the wider world, few can match the scope and quality of BICOM’s work. Professor Clive Jones, Chair in Regional Security School of Government and International Affairs, University of Durham. As an Israeli concerned for Israel’s future as the nation state of the Jewish people and for a peaceful resolution of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians people, I sincerely believe that Fathom’s Peace and Coexistence Research Project is a critical component of the ongoing struggle to maintain the political relevance of the Two-State solution. Asher Susser, Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern History, Tel Aviv University, Israel. 2 CONTENTS CALEV BEN-DOR 4 Introduction FLEUR HASSAN-NAHOUM 5 ‘Why I am voting for the Likud’ TERRY NEWMAN 7 ‘Why I am voting for Yesh Atid’ EMMANUEL NAVON 9 ‘Why I am voting for New Hope’ PETER LERNER 11 ‘Why I am voting for Labour’’ MK ODED FORER 13 ‘Why I am voting for Yisrael Beiteinu’ GULI DOLEV-HASHILONI 15 ‘Why I am voting for the Arab Joint List’ SHRAGA ALWEISS 17 ‘Why I am voting for Yamina’ ITTAY FLESCHER 19 ‘Why I am voting (reluctantly) for Meretz’ 3 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION CALEV BEN-DOR Next Tuesday, 23 March, Israelis will go to the polls for the fourth time in two years. Slowly emerging from the Corona pandemic and beset by economic challenges, national security threats have been less dominant in this election. Large campaign posters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with world leaders no longer adorn the country’s highways. The opposition has toned down its claim that the Prime Minister is corrupt and instead pushed the argument that the government has mismanaged the Corona crisis. Ultimately though, it’s hard to escape the feeling that – once again – the elections are a referendum on Netanyahu himself. Contrary to the last three rounds, Likud will undoubtedly be the largest party, following the Blue and White party’s electoral collapse. Also different is that Netanyahu now faces challengers from within the right-wing, in the form of Naftali Bennett’s Yamina and Gideon Saar’s New Hope. Yet similar to April 2019, September 2019 and March 2020, these elections too could end in stalemate. Current polling suggests the race as too close to call, with both the pro and anti- Netanyahu bloc struggling to reach the magic number of 61 seats. According to reports, approximately one in six Israelis are yet to decide who to vote for. (For BICOM aggregated polling, podcasts and election coverage click here.) There will undoubtedly be more twists and turns both before the elections and after. Voter turnout in different areas of the country next Tuesday will be key. Several smaller parties – such as the Religious Zionist party, Blue and White, Meretz and Raam – are polling around the electoral threshold, which – if any fall under it – could alter the entire face of coalition building. Few would unequivocally rule out a fifth election. The ongoing political crisis raises the question as to whether it’s the system that’s broken or that the chaos is primarily the result of an indicted Prime Minister refusing to resign. The first essay in this Fathom Election Special, by Israel Democracy Institute President Yochanan Plesner, discusses this question and provides recommendations for strengthening Israel’s political system. Following this are eight pieces by Israelis – Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Emanuel Navon, Shraga Alweiss, MK Oded Forer, Terry Newman, Peter Lerner, Ittay Flescher and Guli Dolev-Hashiloni – explaining their vote. Fathom analysis from the 2019 elections can be found here and here. Calev Ben-Dor, for the editors. 4 ELECTION 2021 | THE FATHOM ESSAYS ‘WHY I AM VOTING FOR THE LIKUD’ FLEUR HASSAN-NAHOUM The main reason I am voting Likud in this election is because two years ago after years of seIf- deliberation as a centre-right liberal, I picked my team and as any self-respecting sports fan knows you stick with your team through thick and thin. Today as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem I am also a Likud Central Committee Member and an Executive Board Member of the World Likud. So the question really is why did I chose Likud as my party to begin with? I was inspired to join the Likud firstly because of its history and values, which continue to inspire me till today. Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the father of Revisionist Zionism, strongly believed in the Jewish People’s right to the historic Land of Israel and Jewish immigration to the land. Once it became clear that the British government would renege on the promise of a Jewish state as per the Balfour declaration, he advocated for the Jewish People not to surrender to fate, but create its own destiny. In 1925, Jabotinsky founded the Revisionist Zionist Alliance, a Zionist political movement. Its name was derived from its call for a revision - for a new look at the policy of the Zionist Executive towards the British government and its mandate over Palestine. Jabotinsky laid the seeds for the Likud through his efforts in Revisionist Zionism. His staunch belief in Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel continues to be a core, crucial value in Likud. Another central value of the party is a liberal, free market. The Likud’s liberal economic and political ideology opposes that of the Labour party, which has embodied a socialist infrastructure from the beginning of the State of Israel. As a firm believer in free market policies, I am proud to stand with a party that believes in a liberal economic approach. The Likud has made vital, concrete changes in Israeli society ever since it was established. Menachem Begin, the first Likud member to be elected prime minister, revolutionised both the Israeli economy and society in ways that still impact the country today. Begin forever changed the economy by instituting liberal economic policies and advocating for a free market. He also completely revolutionised the way in which Mizrahi Jewish citizens (Jews from Arab lands) were treated in Israeli society. Begin empowered the underdog Mizrahi community, who were overlooked and mistreated by previous leaders. The Likud party continues to make meaningful, important changes in Israeli society. The party’s policies throughout the past 40 years have successfully minimised the socialist values of the founding fathers. Monopolies like our national Phone company Bezeq have been dismantled 5 HASSAN-NAHOUM| LIKUD under Prime Minister Netanyahu. Additionally, the Likud has expanded and better organised workers’ unions, instituted free trade, privatised government-owned corporations, and reduced taxes significantly. Israel was only able to move to a modern economy through the Likud’s free market principles and policies. In addition to this, the party is responsible for four (out of five) of Israel’s peace deals with the Arab world. It is clear that the Likud doesn’t just talk about its values, but acts on them for the betterment of Israeli society. The Likud is a democratic party with a membership of 130,000 that is as diverse in nature as Israeli society. From centre-right to hard-right, from secular to Orthodox, from Jew to Arab, the Likud’s ideology is the consensus in the country.
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