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Dateline Jerusalem — I walked a little over a mile in each direction in order
to exercise my freedom to vote on Tuesday in one of Israel's most important
elections.
Election Day in Israel is a national holiday. People either get the day off or
get paid overtime if they have to work. I am salaried, so there is no such thing
as overtime for me. And it was not a day off.
Luckily, I voted early and was able to avoid the bad storm we were experiencing.
Yesterday it was in the 70s. People were complaining of the drought. Today the
winds were like a mini-hurricane with my windows shaking and the rain pouring
down in buckets. The thunder and lightning caused my phone and computer to be
out of service.
The Epitome of Security
I voted at a school. The guard at the gate inspected my purse to make sure I was
not bringing in weapons or a bomb. Like everywhere in Israel, security is always
an everyday part of our lives. We get checked at the bus and train stations, at the
mall and office buildings, at the market and bank. Everywhere.
Then I handed over my ID card to one of 7 poll workers in the classroom I was
assigned to vote in. I was given an envelope and walked behind a makeshift voting
booth with a tray of 34 pieces of paper, one for each of the parties running in the
election.
I chose the paper with the Hebrew letter representing my choice of party, as I do not
vote for person but for party. Then I sealed the envelope and dropped it into the ballot
box. I was the only voter in the room. The line outside the classroom was long and noisy.
It seemed strange that only one person could vote at a time.
You Can’t Be in a Hurry
The results of the election were not quite final as I wrote this, even though 99 percent
of the vote already had been counted.
Ballots from soldiers, people in the hospital, and diplomats serving all over the world
still must be counted. Believe it or not, that extra 1 percent can change the outcome
because this election was so close.
Final results won't be available for another week.
Because no one party got more than 25 percent of the vote, more than likely the
government will be one of a coalition of parties. The negotiations and promises have
begun already.
The two top parties, Netanyahu's Likud with 27 seats and Livni's Kadima with 28 seats,
must try to acquire at least 61 seats in total to form a government.
Both parties are claiming victory, and they are boasting that the people have given them
a mandate. What kind of mandate is 25 percent?
In the next month or so, the Prime Minister of Israel will be decided upon,
but as of today, everything is anybody's guess.
L'hitraot. Shachar
Shachar is the Hebrew name of a California-based attorney and former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy who moved to Israel last year.
