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Day 7 – Let the mudslinging begin

Let the Mudslinging Begin
The 99 Day Blog – Day 7

When elections were last held in Israel, Facebook was just catching on. Today, most Israelis are very active on Facebook and other social media. How will Netanyahu and his opponents use social media? It’s too soon to know but I’d bet on massive social media campaigns, especially from the left, which is vying for younger voters. Here’s a comparison between the various party websites (in Hebrew) and a related article about how world leaders use Twitter to communicate with their voters, especially post elections.
Meanwhile, Palestinians hold “elections” in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) characterized mainly by apathy and low voter turnut.
A helpful Q&A about the elections can be found here.
Reports have Netanyahu worried about losing as many as 5 seats to other right wing parties and a reinvigorated Shas.
The only strategic threat, though, is a consolidated centrist-left party headed by Olmert and Livni. But Olmert would not settle for anything short of premiership. On the one hand a poll released last Thursday gives such a party chances of winning one seat more than Likud. But since this not a sure thing, and since he is apparently in for longer legal battles than he had thought, Olmert’s associates now say he is unlikely to run. This could surely change so stay tuned for more.
Here are some Polls, as of October 18th. But the next polls will likely show an increase in power for Shas.
Finally, let the mudslinging begin.

About the Author

Ari Applbaum is Director of Israel Operations for The David Project, a non-profit that positively shapes campus opinion on Israel, and has been with the organization since 2007. Ari manages all aspects of the organization’s work in Israel such as overseeing operations and budget, a staff of three, strategic partnerships with other organizations and all educational programming. He also lectures to thousands of Americans visiting the Jewish state each year. From 2008 to 2010, Ari served as a Middle East Analyst for The David Project. Based out of Boston, MA, Ari travelled extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada to educate and inspire effective supporters of Israel. He spoke to thousands of adults and students and lectured at hundreds of venus, including Ivy League universities such as Harvard and prestigious conferences such as AIPAC’s Saban Leadership conference. While in Boston, Ari also served as marketing and communications manager for the organization. In this role, Ari was responsible for the organization’s overall media, public relations and marketing activities. Prior to The David Project, Ari served as Senior Account Executive at the Israel branch of Ruder Finn, one of the world’s largest marketing and communications consultancies. There he specialized in strategic planning, media and analyst relations, marketing material development, market research, and branding. Ari provided these services to non-profit organizations, global telecommunications and technology companies (including several Fortune 100 companies), Israeli start-ups and financial institutions. As a student activist, Ari was sent numerous times by the MFA, The Jewish Agency for Israel, and other organizations to represent Israel in the U.S., Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and The Netherlands. Ari holds a Master of the Arts degree in Security and Diplomacy from Tel Aviv University and a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Communication & Journalism and Islam & Middle-East Studies from Hebrew University. Ari is currently working on his first book, a compilation of inspirational Zionist quotes. He is married to Na'ama; Their twin sons Yuval and Roni were born in Boston but are eighth-generation Jerusalemites.