Israelis Admit Tenser About More Elections Than About More Rockets

Accepting pointless elections every few months as an inescapable fact of life, to be managed rather than overcome, that’s something else entirely.

Kibbutz Zikim, November 14 – The most recent barrages of missiles from Islamist groups in the neighboring Gaza Strip have residents of this cooperative agricultural community stressed, but not nearly as stressed as they have become about the prospect of yet another round of voting for the Knesset.

Zikkim lies within long-range mortar range of Gaza’s various armed terrorist groups, adding to the challenge that rockets already pose to them and much of the rest of the country. This makes it typical of locales within the “Gaza Envelope,” a loosely-defined area whose proximity to the Hamas-controlled coastal territory limits the time – usually about fifteen seconds – that residents have to find shelter when an attack alert sounds. The concern residents feel about that situation, however, pales in comparison to the dread they experience when contemplating the distinct possibility of a third election within less than a year.

“Rockets, yeah, those are terrible,” acknowledged Dov, 44, a father of three who declined to give his last name. “I hope the IDF puts a stop to them soon. But I’m too busy worrying about having to vote again in March to focus too much on such trivialities. Fine, Bibi, whoever it is right now, do something about Islamic Jihad and Hamas. But you better work damned hard to avoid another round of elections, because we have had it up to here with the futility.”

Israelis also worry that the that’s-just-the-way-it-is resignation that characterizes their attitude toward Palestinian violence will creep into the political sphere and give way to dangerous political fatalism. “May, September, the following March – these things take a toll,” explained analyst Tchai Niztorczer. “The erosion of Israelis’ confidence that voting will deter elections from happening again for four years is a dangerous phenomenon. This society made its peace, so to speak, a long time ago with the notion that its neighbors want them dead, or at least within easy reach for persecution. But accepting pointless elections every few months as an inescapable fact of life, to be managed rather than overcome, that’s something else entirely, and it scares them.”

“We build bomb shelters and safe rooms into every new residence,” he continued. “It’s just part of what we call hahavayah hayisr’elit – loosely translated, the Israeli milieu, the givens of the experience of living here.  But getting used to frequent elections is a disruption that sends a tremor through even the hardiest among us. We really don’t want to contemplate it.”

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