'Rationalist' Voting in Israel

Image for illustration purposes taken from Rationalist Judaism

I have said it before. But I cannot emphasize enough my disdain for Israel’s form of government. Even though it might be more of a democracy than the US. By virtue of the fact that there are so many political parties to choose from that voters can find a party whose political philosophy more closely aligns with their own.

The reason for my disdain is that their system (which was basically just a continuation of the preexisting parliamentary system of the British mandate) chaos inevitably ensues. A chaos that results with the inability of one party to govern efficiently. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party with the most votes which translates into the most seats in the Keneset - Israel’s parliament.  But not enough to form a majority of seats from a single party.

What Israel ends up with is a coalition government with other parties at the expense of making concessions very few voters voted for. A coalition government like this is kind of like what my wife likes to call a horse put together by a committee: A camel.

It limits governance. It limits the policies that can be implemented and often leads to conflict, disintegration of the coalition, and new elections. Where the same thing happens all over again.

I much prefer a 2 party system and  direct elections for the President - like the one we have here. It is as democratic and far more efficient. Although the United States has no law against third parties (or more) those rarely win national elections. especially for President. At best a third party candidate will be a ‘spoiler’ by taking away votes from a front runner. 

Although this is a bit of an oversimplification, I believe this is basically what happens and has just about always been the case in the US. The President has always been the candidate of one of the 2 major parties. There are no coalitions. The President gets 4 years to govern without fear of losing his job. And there is no inordinate power given to small parties.

Israel on the other hand has exactly that problem. Thus creating a situation where a small party can dictate policies favorable to themselves in exchange for their joining the coalition. Polices that the vast majority of voters did not vote for. (Which is kind of the opposite of a democracy if you think about it.) 

All of these thoughts occurred to me as I read Rabbi Natan Slifkin’s post today. (Which he bases on a Times of Israel article). Therein he justifies voting for a political party he does not agree with for pragmatic (and perhaps even existential) purposes.

Personally I can’t imagine voting for a party I disagree with. But if I were in his shoes, maybe I would do the same - or risk getting a government that is even worse.

This is the dilemma facing Rabbi Slifkin. He is going to vote for a party he does not agree with because if he votes for the one he does agree with Israel will continue down the path of self destruction. 

Shocking thought that may be, I totally understand where he is coming from. Israel does face an existential problem if its demographics continue along the lines they are now. A situation where the exponential growth of a community that refuses to educate their young to be more productive will lead to the inability of Israel to retain its status as a fist rate economy.  Which as Rabbi Slifkin also notes he will eventually cause a situation whereby Israel will be unable to fund the maintenance of their army. 

The Charedi leadership seems to be ignoring that reality. Focusing only on their immediate needs. Which consists mostly of financing their institutions and their indigent families. With an educational paradigm that has no formal secular education. Which if they did - would give them the tools to contribute more productively to their families and to the rest of the country.

I have been saying what seems like forever that the Charedi leadership needs to change things there along the lines of most Chatedi Yeshivos in America. Not that anyone there hears me or even knows that I exist. Just telling it like it is. 

As I have said many times. Even as I understand the importance of Torah L’Shma and fully endorse the idea, that should not be the sole standard of education for all Charedim. The vast majority needs to study Limudei Chol for a substantial part of the day as well. 

That they categorically refuse to change - combined with their exponential growth means that there will eventually not be enough of them that are educated enough to support Israel’s economy. 

One might argue that things are not as bad as all that. And that more Charedim are working than ever. And that opportunities for better jobs through better training are available in the form of a variety of programs designed for Charedim to catch up. But as Rabbi Slifkin notes, there is a 75% dropout rate. Not a good number. 

There needs to be a change in the entire paradigm so that those that want to pursue a better income won’t need to catch up. But intransigence rules the day in Israel’s Charedi world. Which is buttressed by their political power and a myopic vision of the future.

It doesn’t take much of an imagination to see what the future looks like if things continue as they are in a political system like Israel’s.

What a mess. Please do not misunderstand. I reiterate my support for studying Torah L'Shma. In no way do I want to harm the Charedi community. The exact opposite is true. If they would only tweak their educational paradigm to be more like that of the vast majority of American Charedi Yeshivos - it would change everything! For the better. For everyone. In the meantime, maybe Rabbi Slifkin has a point.