In the end, Lapid is a politician and may give in to the temptations of the moment. But never before has there been more potential to bridge the gaps between ultra-Orthodox and modernists - a group that includes secular Israelis and progressive or modern Orthodox Jews who want to engage the modern world rather than flee it or deny its existence.
If you want to hear more about Lapid's vision in his own words, his recent column in the Times of Israel.
Here's Jan's report:
Dear Friends,
The Israeli elections are over and while the results
are not official but rather based on exit polls, the outcome is pretty well
known. Likud took a hit and both Labor and the new Yesh Atid (meaning
"There is a future") Yair Lapid party came out strong.
I want to emphasize that while American Jewish left
wing groups like J Street may be celebrating, this election was not at
all about the Palestinian problem. Most Israelis know nothing can happen unless
the Palestinians are willing to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist. And
that isn't happening.
Rather, this election was about domestic issues.
The big one, and the one which brought Yesh Atid into existence, is the issue
of who serves in the army and in national service; who doesn't, and where
the money is going to subsidize those who don't serve in either one. Add to
that the high cost of housing,the problems with the education system, and the
deeply resented power of the ultra-Orthodox over conversion, marriage and
divorce, and you have the reasons for the turn to center and left. And this is
a good thing for the health of the country. If the eventual coalition
that Netanyahu forms excludes Shas, that will be reason enough for the outcome
of this election.
Lapid has stated emphatically that he will not bring
his party into a coalition that includes Shas. And since he is now in a
very strong position to form a new coalition, that may actually happen.
Perhaps we are seeing, finally, a weakening of the strangle hold that Shas and
other ultra Orthodox parties have had on the country.
It is also interesting to note the composition of the
Yesh Atid party, which Lapid put together. The No. 2 person is an Orthodox
rabbi and the No. 17 person (who never expected to make it into the Knesset) is
an American Haredi rabbi who has vowed to work for equal treatment for Reform
and Conservative (Masorti) Judaism. There are 2 Ethiopians, several
women, Russians and activists for social change. And Lapid himself goes
to a Masorti synagogue in Tel Aviv!
As for the Labor party, the oldest, veteran party in
the country, the leader is a former female TV commentator (like Lapid) who
campaigned totally on local issues, especially demanding that the 2013 budget
include funding for all of the social issues I've mentioned, with housing and
education emphasized. Labor is where the young activists from the demonstrations
two summers ago landed.
Netanyahu was smart in not doing anything about draft
reform and housing reform until after the election, taking a chance that he
would garner more support in the future. He was very mistaken to have
formed an alliance with Israel Beitenu whose leader, Liberman, helped to bring
down the Likud as a result. But Bibi is a canny politician and will be able to
maneuver Likud into a coaltion with Lapid and Labor hopefully.
Finally, it appears that the Anglo Israeli population
voted for both Lapid and secondarily Bibi. From my own group of friends
and acquaintances, it was overwhelmingly Lapid where previously they had been
Likud voters, and only secondarily Likud and coming in 3rd was Labor.In Raanana
according to the J Post it was similar with Likud preferred and Naftali Bennett
who comes from Raanana, coming in strong. Bennett did not do as well with
his Strong Home party, to the right of Likud but he did revive the dormant
national religious body of voters who had almost faded away.
So that is my take on the election. The
official results will be announced either today or tomorrow. After the
paper ballots have been counted. I get a real kick out of the system
here. There are no voting machines. Each of the 32 parties running had a
Hebrew letter or letters as identifying each one. You come into the
voting booth, take one of the slips with the letter of your party on it, put it
into an envelope, seal it and drop it into a cardboard box. Wow!! Antiquated?
At least there aren't any" hanging chads." But Israel is a
small country and can easily handle the primitive looking system. I myself
panic every time because the identifying letters are not translated into
English (or French) but only Russian and Arabic. So I had to memorize again and
again the Hebrew letters before I went into the booth and then read them over
several times to be sure I had the right letters for the party I wanted.
If you don't read Hebrew, you're in big trouble although I'm sure one of the official
volunteers would help you.
And in the end, it was a wonderful day. Everyone gets
off work, the stores are open and running sales, and the weather was a gorgeous
74 degrees so everyone took their kids to a national park, zoo or nature
reserve. After they voted of course.
With about 66% voter turnout, that's better than the
U.S. More importantly, it shows that Israelis are thoughtful and want to
make a real difference in their lives. Democracy here may be chaotic but
somehow it works.
Jan Gaines
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