We're not the United States
Prime Minister Netanyahu says he will support a bill introduced by Yisrael Beiteinu that would allow Israelis living abroad to vote (today, only foreign ministry staff and IDF soldiers posted abroad are allowed to vote without returning to Israel). Even though I vote in the United States while living in Israel, I disagree with allowing people who live in the United States and other countries to vote in Israel.Here are three reasons why:
1. Israel faces an existential and never-ending conflict. Israelis who live abroad have escaped that conflict and vote without feeling the constant pressure cooker that we feel.
2. Americans who live abroad and vote in American elections are a small minority of American voters. They have very little effect on the outcome of most elections. By contrast, the number of Israelis living abroad could have a significant effect on the outcome of elections here just by the number of votes they would have.
3. Americans who live abroad continue to file tax returns and in some cases to pay taxes to the American government. To deny them the vote would result in taxation (or at least the potential of taxation) without representation. Israelis living abroad do not file Israeli tax returns and do not pay taxes. Not only do they not have a physical stake in what goes on here, they don't have a financial stake in it either.
There are probably more reasons for not allowing Israelis who are abroad to vote in our elections, but those are the ones I thought of off the top of my head.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:19 AM
6 Comments:
I agree with you on one level Carl, yet I would probably vote for the same people you vote for if I had Israeli citizenship. Maybe I could get the citizenship before the next election so I can help counter the insanity of the far left.
We live in a global world and enfranchising Israelis abroad would give them a stake in the country's future and an incentive to return home. It would send the message that every Jew needs to be concerned about Israel's well-being. In the past there was no compelling reason to do it. Today, there is every reason to encourage Israelis to do all they can to support the country, no matter where they are.
who benefits?
It seems to me that most yordim are of the JINO, Olmerts daughter type. Does Bibi really want Ilan Pappe's in America to vote?
who benefits?
It seems to me that most yordim are of the JINO, Olmerts daughter type. Does Bibi really want Ilan Pappe's in America to vote?
That can only benefit the Left. I mean, look at all the American Jews who voted for Obama, about 70%. And so many of them also have some pretty screwy ideas involving Israel capitulating to terrorists. So, for that reason alone, I say NO!
It just occurred to me, that this might be akin to a kind of GERRYMANDERING, As TheFreeDictionary defines it: "To divide (a geographic area) into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections." and, since it's wandering so far from home in search of likeminded loons, maybe we can rename it GERRYMEANDERING?
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