89 Days to go: Do We Know Eisenkot’s Platform?

When I walk into our neighborhood polling place in Jerusalem on October 27^, there are some things I’d like to know about my candidate for Prime Minister to succeed Benjamin Netanyahu as well as his plans for the future of Israel.

First and foremost, I would like to have seen a platform of the candidate’s party. It is important to me, and hopefully to most voters here, to know what the candidate’s goals are if victory is secured.  Specifically, what are the plans for ending hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon?  What is the plan to extract us from the quagmire of Hamas-run Gaza?  How will the new government position itself vis-à-vis the relationship with Syria?  What will the attitude of the new government be towards the Iranian threat?

Is there a commitment to create a constitution for Israel?  What is the plan to deal with much-needed, but universally acceptable judicial reform?  What is the plan regarding Haredi enlistment in the IDF?  And what about the large number of secular Israelis who find ways to avoid service?  How will that be addressed?

Is the party committed to considering changing the electoral system so that individual members of the Knesset represent identified geographical districts?  What about term limits for MKs?  And for Supreme Court justices as well?  Does the platform speak about increasing the size of the Knesset to 360 people, to reflect the 20-fold growth of our population since the founding of the state?

In addition, how will the issue of settler violence, which seems to have increased during these past few years, be addressed?  What is the plan to reduce the seemingly out-of-control attacks against the Arab population of Israel by other Arabs?   Is there a plan to integrate the Bedouin community more fully into Israeli society?  Is the new government committed to providing equal levels of service to all citizens of the country regardless of where they live or their ethnic background?

I cannot remember if, in my 42 years in the country, I ever actually saw a written platform of a party up for election but if there ever was a time for that to happen, it is now!!!

The other thing I would like to know on October 27 is who the people are who will take their seats in the Knesset under the number of mandates the party will receive.  I’d like to see both the names of the people as well as a short but informative biography of why each one is qualified to sit in the Knesset, debate our future and decide on our laws.

As importantly, it would be good to know now, not three months from now, how those names will be chosen.  In a primary election?  Picked solely by the party leader?  Or, worse yet, by a cabal of people sitting in the proverbial “smoke-filled room” and doling out plum jobs to their friends?

Sadly, in this country, there are no national rules about any of this.  Each party is free to choose its own path to address, or not to address, any or all of these issues.

For example, Prime Minister Netanyahu who, once again, will head the Likud list in the upcoming election, just secured expanded control over the party list for the upcoming election, gaining authority over eight reserved slots within the top 29 positions, though his attempt to completely cancel regular primaries was blocked by the party’s internal court.

Most likely, these protected spots will accommodate allied politicians outside traditional party primaries, including members of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s merged faction.  However, the Likud Party Tribunal rejected Netanyahu’s separate effort to completely bypass the August 17^th scheduled primaries by using an appointed emergency committee because of the current security crisis.  Ruling that Likud “is not a one-man party,” the tribunal mandated that regular primaries must proceed using electronic or postponed formats if physical polling is disrupted.  THAT was a surprisingly responsible position on their part.

While I personally believe that Gadi Eisenkot is the best candidate to take over the Prime Minister’s office, the fact is that none of us have seen any answers from his Yashar Party to the points raised here, nor do we know how the slate will be selected.  If he wants to come out on top at the end of October, he has a lot of work to do in the interim.  I believe he is up to the task but time will tell. Let’s hope there is a real commitment to constructive change.

Carthago substituenda est!