The Eternal Hope of Small Parties: Grabbing Seats in
the Israeli Parliament
Israel's alternative parties call for everything
from legalization of marijuana to replacing politicians with academics.
By Ellis Shuman
This article, written
just prior to the elections to Israel's 16th Knesset in January 2003, provides
a snapshot of the platforms of some of the smaller parties jockeying for seats.
While some of the parties and issues discussed very much reflect the moment in
time this article was written, they are representative of small parties
throughout Israel's history and the pivotal role they play in coalition
building. As neither of the major parties (Likud or Labor) has ever succeeded
in winning a clear majority of 61 seats, the larger parties must strike deals
with smaller parties to create a coalition. While the parties described here
may be small, if they succeed in garnering seats in the Knesset they wield
power far beyond their numbers.
The smaller parties
are often in flux, and their issues include national security, religious
politics, social issues, and more. They need 1.5 percent of the vote to gain a
seat in the Knesset. Often smaller parties will mount a campaign even if they
do not stand a chance of gaining a seat because it is an opportunity to have
their agenda become part of the national public debate. This article originally
appeared in Israel Insider and is
reprinted with permission.
With
most of the media's attention focused on Israel's major political parties,
fringe groups hope to garner enough support to get seated in the Knesset.
Israel's alternative parties call for the legalization of marijuana and
prostitution, the protection of the environment, and for a country led by
professionals instead of politicians.
Ahavat Yisrael
Ahavat
Yisrael (Love of Israel), an ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party, broke away from
Shas [the major ultra-Orthodox party] and is seen as a direct competitor. The
party's spiritual leader is Rabbi Yitzhak Kadourie. Recently, Kadourie's son,
Rabbi David Kadourie, claimed that Shas had offered him a "six
figure" bribe to have the party withdraw from the Knesset race. Attorney
General Elyakim Rubinstein ruled last month that the party was prohibited from
using Kadourie's picture on its election propaganda and from distributing
amulets to the public.
Gesher
After
Member of Knesset (MK) David Levy announced his return to the Likud, where he
was listed in the 17th slot, the social action party he founded regrouped and
formed its own Knesset slate. However, the reformed party was deemed not
eligible to compete in the elections to the 16th Knesset, since the process
whereby it convened to decide on the continuation of its operations was
illegal.
Green Leaf
According
to recent public opinion polls, the Green Leaf Party, whose platform calls for
the legalization of marijuana and prostitution, may garner enough support to
win two seats in the 16th Knesset. It just missed the 1.5 percent threshold in
1999, and many of Israel's young and first-time voters are considering voting
for the party.
"We're
not politicians by choice, but out of necessity," said party chairman Boaz
Wachtel, 44. "In order to change things we had to jump into the political
swamp in Israel."
Wachtel
is not a "typical hippie," the Associated Press reported. He was the
assistant military attache at the Israeli embassy in Washington in the 1980s,
and served on a team of Israeli representatives to former President Ronald
Reagan's space-based anti-missile shield program.
Wachtel
believes that so-called soft drugs like marijuana are not gateways to hard
drugs like cocaine. According to him, drug addition is the outcome of larger
social problems like poverty, violence, and sexual abuse. Legalizing cannabis
would free up money and time for the government to treat hardcore drug addicts
and fight more important problems like violent crime, he said.
Green Party
The
pro-environment Green Party launched its election campaign on a Jaffa beach
last week, a site chosen because it had become a municipal garbage dump in
recent years. Party officials say that if they reach the Knesset they would
clean up the beach and return it to its rightful owners, the public.
The
party's platform states that Israel cannot occupy itself solely with questions
of security and borders, but must also deal with its severe environmental
crises. Pe'er Veisner, party chairman and first on its Knesset slate, said the
dangers facing Israelis in places like the Pi Glilot fuel depot and the
chemical factories in Haifa Bay are far greater than the dangers posed by Saddam
Hussein.
Men's Rights in the Family Party
Led
by Yaakov Schlusser, the party advocates strengthening a man's say in child
custody battles and decisions over abortions.
Tzomet
Tzomet, a right-wing secular party established by former IDF
chief of staff Rafael Eitan, ran with the Likud in the 1996 elections but did
not win any seats on its own in 1999. Moshe Green leads the party list. Eitan,
73, says he may still have a future in politics, if not as a Knesset member,
possibly as a cabinet minister.
Yisrael Acheret
This grassroots party, whose name means "A Different
Israel," is led by Boaz Nol, a 26-year-old law student, wants to replace
politicians with academics, business people, and professionals. The party calls
for an end to subsidies for ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are exempt from military
service. The party's clean image was clouded when media reports indicated that
Nol had rarely done reserve duty since his release from compulsory military
service.
The party held a cross-country trek to spread its message from Kiryat Shemona
in the north to Sde Boker in the south. Nol vows that his party will "run
until the end," and party members have abandoned traditional methods of
campaigning to avoid turning into politicians.
Israel Insider is
published by Koret Communications.
