The title sounds like it should be read in a mock-baby voice. Whilst not the intention when deciding to write about this, it is indeed an uncontrollable cry. My response, rather than specifically being rational, is at base a simple reaction to the a gross unfairness of a world in which Benjamin Netanyahu could lead our Jewish, democratic state? Maybe having such a leader will, Chas v'Salom, precipitate the end of such a state itself.
It is an unfortunate side effect of 'proportional representation' that in a deeply fragmented society, the winners of a general election are not necessarily the winners of the elections! The leader of the party that wins the most votes will not necessarily be able to form a government. In this case, Livni and Kadima may win the most seats in parliament but will end up in opposition. There are so many parties on so many issues for so many interest groups, that even the main parties will only get 30 or so seats, out of 120 in the Knesset. You only then get into government through coalition with many, many of the smaller parties. There is no guarantee that the main party will, and ample evidence they will not, be able to do this.
These small parties get the deciding vote as to who leads and therefore, proportional representation leads to disproportional influence of these groups. As such, you may doubly end up not getting what you voted for. Firstly, the group that most people want end up in opposition. Secondly, even if those you voted for get into government, you will not be able to recognise them post-election. To get the smaller parties to agree to join them, you basically have to cede your policies to theirs. They often get their votes on the basis of a single issue and this is what the main party will have to cede some ground on. Often this will have benign or amusing effect. Only in Israel could "The Pensioners Party" have such sway over governmental policy!
However, in this case it leads to Bibi being PM!! He is the most able to form a coalition as he the most willing to give up on any principles he has to gain and hold on to power. One thing that this will mean, although I won't go into detail here, is an a major step backwards from the peace process. This isn't do with the fact that he is 'right-wing' as it often only those on the 'right' that can make peace. Nor is it specifically to with his views. If it suited him, he would try make peace by going back on his word about a United Jerusalem in a second. The problem is, is that he will have to go into coalition with the possibly racist Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu. Their minority view- one which hardly anyone accepts or voted for- will have a disproportional influence. It will only serve to amplify Netanyahu's hawkish tendencies.
However, in the short term, his policies will not be all that different from anyone else's. They would all continue the disastrous policy of maintaining the status quo with regards to settlements until such a peace deal is made. Such a policy leads to the slow but sure death of the Zionist dream. Netanyahu may (sadly) put off the surgery but everyone will be dealing with the symptoms of the illness in the same way.
More worryingly about Bibi becoming PM in the short term, is his economic policies. With all the attention on the recent war in Gaza, people have forgotten about social issues. These are things which a) Netanyahu is more principled about (for the worse) and b) where policies will have more immediate effects. Moreover, Netanyahu already has a record in this area and people know (but have forgotten or ignored) what he is capable of. This, more than anything else, puts into doubt the building of a Jewish society.
However, rather than saying anything myself, I will just copy an article by Rabbi Michael Melchior who heads the only religious party in Israel- Meimad. Yes, there are many parties with rabbis in or have the word 'religious' in their title. But they are just one more interest group trying to secure a) money for their yeshivot b) a hawkish foreign policy c) exemption from army service d) control over the institutional Bet Din and Chief Rabbinate etc. Who though is fighting for a Jewish character of society? This is what Meimad, founded by Rav Yehuda Amital, tries to do. Meimad is an acronym for "Jewish State, Democratic State".
Here is what R' Melchior said in 2004 in relation to Bibi's economic policies (originally from Ha'aretz):
"The group of children that gathered around us seemed highly amused. Some of the children held out syringes they had collected n a nearby yard, and demonstrated how to inject drugs "like dults." Others cursed the state and everything to do with it. It is hard to blame them: It is not pleasant seeing a closed community center. Near the gravel road the sewage flowed freely, and the neighbor from the nearby house told us about the complex "ATM" network or selling drugs, which is open for business there from the afternoon to the next morning.
Presumably, the million Israelis that went abroad this summer will not encounter such a scene. It is hiding across the road, two kilometers from Ben-Gurion Airport. During take off and landing it is hard to detect the squalid hovels, the dirt and drugs of the town of Lod, but to its residents it is a painful, depressing everyday reality.
In recent years there have been serious attempts to change the situation and improve the town's image. But just when it seemed that the town was on the right course and had a chance, some of the authorities stopped their activity and now the collapse and destruction loom closer than ever. Israel, which defines itself as "a Jewish Democratic state," has become one of the most immoral states in the Western world.
In one field Israel could win a gold medal, although not in Athens. It is in the income gaps between society's top tier and the lower tiers. These gaps compromise human dignity, and cast grave doubt on our right to be called a Jewish democratic society.
It is not a decree of fate. Only a few years ago Israel was at the top of the education pyramid. The Israeli health system also won a worldwide reputation, even though the economic situation was worse than it is today.
We live in a society in which a million and a quarter people - 40 percent of them working people - are below the poverty line. This is a society that abandons 366,000 of its children-at-risk and throws them into the street; a society that treats its foreign workers like animals; a society that despises its elderly and sends them to rummage through the garbage. It is a society, according to information given the Knesset Committee for Children's Rights, where in the absence of standards, a social worker has to devote an average of two minutes to a family in distress. It is a society among the leaders in the world trafficking in women. Such a society is neither Jewish nor democratic.
The magic solution that the Israeli government has found for this situation is bulimic privatization, taken from the economic school of the finance minister. In recent years Israeli society has been privatizing itself to death. The damages of this dangerous trend are obvious in every direction. Thus, for example, Jewish communities abroad were enlisted to subsidize summer camps for needy children. The days go by, a year passes, and in time fashions change. The amount of money communities gave this year dwindled significantly - the number of children at camps was reduced this summer by two-thirds. By means of the privatization, the government of Israel is washing its hands of its minimal social responsibilities. In the best tradition of the shtetl of the Jewish community in exile, the government leaves education, health and welfare to the mercies f the rich philanthropists.
True, charity has always been the main concern of the Jewish community. But this is not what the State of Israel was meant to be. The Jewish state is supposed to and ought to take care of all its citizens, not only the rich ones, so that they can give their children a good education, and provide all the citizens with health and social services that would preserve their welfare and dignity. Instead of a rule of justice, a rule of charity is being established, based on alms collection and mutual back scratching.
In the beggar state there is no place for single mothers, elderly or handicapped people. The philanthropists prefer to give their money to grandiose marble buildings, or ambulances with their names inscribed on them. In the beggar state the Knesset enacts a "feeding law," which ensures that a small percentage of the school children (who of course are immediately branded with wretched poverty) can have one warm meal a day. A considerable part of this law - hard to believe, but a majority of the Knesset members decided this - will be financed by philanthropists. And what will happen when they prefer to direct their contributions toward other causes?
Beyond the immediate risk of the collapse of the education, health and welfare services, those who need them - the majority of the population - are losing their voice. Where there is privatization, there is no responsible minister, and consequently the children at risk no longer have a mouth at the cabinet table.
Those in the upper class can wait two more years for the tax benefits which the magician Benjamin Netanyahu promised them. Instead of reducing the taxes, the government would have done better to direct those NIS 2.5 billion to the health services, the single mothers and the children at risk. Had it done so, perhaps the old couple who "thanked" Netanyahu before committing suicide due to their economic distress could have thanked him in person. Had it done so, the government could have boasted that it was heading a Jewish, democratic state."
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