Photo Credit: Asher Schwartz
{Originally posted to the author’s blog}
Since you asked. No, really. People have actually asked me and all along, I’ve said I’m working on it. With less than 24 hours until the polls open, I’ve decided. More, I’ve decided to announce it.
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Weeks ago, I wrote that I would vote for Benjamin Netanyahu if he arranged to have Jonathan Pollard home, here in Israel. That still stands. Following is my thinking. The ONLY thing that will change it, as far as I know at this moment, is news that Jonathan Pollard has finally been allowed to board a plane to Israel.
So, Benjamin Netanyahu…it’s Monday morning in Israel. Tomorrow is election day. Yes, I said I would vote for you if Jonathan Pollard walked off the plane at Ben Gurion. At this point, I’m guessing that isn’t going to happen.
Lately, I’ve been listing the parties that I wouldn’t vote for, but with 40+ parties running, I’m out of times. Already, I’ve written about many. Here I’ll add that I won’t vote for the United Right because I really don’t believe they are united. Like the Arab parties that realized they needed to join together in name only and then post-election do whatever they want…that’s what this group has done as well. It’s a farce, not unity.
More, OMG, I have been bombarded with messages, phone calls and SMS beeps for weeks because of this party. They have plastered my neighborhood with posters. No. I won’t vote for them because I too believe change is needed and they are part of the old. Too many times, I have experienced intolerance from them and that’s not the Israel I want us to be.
Meretz – not if you paid me $10,000, not even $100,000. A vote for Meretz is, in my mind, roughly equivalent to selling my soul and is most certainly a betrayal of much of what Israel stands for.
Zehut – no…as I’ve written. I find their platform interesting and at times even commendable. But I have never had faith in Moshe Feiglin as a leader and his track record proves this beyond anything else. I’ve heard him speak. It’s always been about him. No, thanks. Further, there are contradictions
Yisrael Beitenu – not right enough, not strong enough. Too personality oriented…not my cup of tea.
Kachol Lavon…omg no. I can’t think of a worse combination leading our country than Benny Gantz (who couldn’t even run a company, let alone a country) and Yair Lapid (who is so busy looking in the mirror and looking abroad that he has no vision of Israel).
Ultimately, what it comes down to, is belief. I believe in the Bib Netanyahu that walks before the world and tells them to go to hell, that this time, the Jewish people will stand true to our nation, our land…but then he fumbles and it just about kills me.
So Likud – well, I’d vote for the Likud of Menachem Begin forever and always but I can’t vote for the Likud of Benjamin Netanyahu. Plus, he is part of the pandering to the Christian lobby that plagues this country and tries to influence. They have an agenda that seems to close to ours but behind their agenda is another. They want the Jews returned from the four corners of the world…as do we. But ask yourself WHY…and more importantly, ask why our Prime Minister doesn’t stand up against it.
And ultimately, I like Naftali Bennett. He’s coming into his own and some day he’ll speak as well as Bibi…he’s already close. I like Ayelet Shaked…she’s not a silent one. And I like Caroline Glick – she too understands that there is evil in silence.
so, tomorrow, I’ll go to the polls and vote for Yamin HaHadash – the New Right party. I’m sorry that it is a bit more secular than I’d like – but I like that it is because there are always many ways to attract people to what you believe. And I believe the best way to encourage others to be religious is not by demanding it, but by showing them the beauty in it.
I respect the people, the vision. I’m not 100% sold but that’s a rarity in these days when politicians are faced with trying to get votes. So far, I have found three people that I respect in this party. I can’t say the same about most or all of the other parties.
Beyond any doubt and with complete faith, I will tell you that the Leader of Israel will not be elected tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow I’ll go vote. But I’ll do it knowing that above all that any of these politicians will do in the coming years, our Leader, the True Leader of Israel remains.
May the God of Israel find favor in our new leaders and bless them with wisdom. And may He protect us from the enemies on our borders and the enemies within our borders. May He bless us with clarity and with health, safety, prosperity.
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