On the prospects of Israeli overseas voting

Haaretz online version carries an editorial "Don't let Israelis vote abroad". The editorial is written in reaction to a proposal raised by the incoming governing partners Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu.

Whilst the underlining motifs behind the proposal are sinister electoral calculations (the rightwing is hoping to score more votes if out-of-country-voting is established) and racism (hoping to diminish the Arab influence in Knesset), the Haaretz rebuttal also raises some questions. If the Zionist concept that Israel is the national home of all Jews around the world is to be upheld, wouldn't overseas voting be a logical consequence?

Different countries have different legislations of overseas voting, some have no such mechanism (Denmark) whilst others have rather elaborate overseas voting mechanisms (Italy, Ecuador). Generally speaking, states which put emphasis on diaspora relations tend to have more generous rules to allow non-resident citizens to vote. In the Italian electoral system, there are even four extraterritorial parliamentary constituencies; North America, South America, Europe and Africa-Asia-Australia. There are parties uniquely based in the Italian diaspora in South America, and Italian parliamentary elections are preceded by intense election campaigning amongst the Italian communities in countries like Argentina. Considering the Zionist discourse on the link between the Jewish diaspora and the State of Israel, the fact that Israel is one of the states that doesn't allow overseas voting is a bit odd. From a Zionist perspective, that is.

It's not really my task to decide on internal Israeli matters, and I suppose the proposal will pass through various stages of wrangling before becoming a reality. As per the diminish Arab influence, the problem shouldn't be overrated. In the racist order of Israeli politics, the Arab parties are a pariah in Knesset and are never included in governing coalitions anyway. I'm not a full-fledged expert on Israeli domestic politics, but are there any cases were proposals raised by Arab parties have been passed as legislature? As per the prospect of Avigdor Lieberman doing his campaign work in Minsk or Moscow rather than the streets of Tel Aviv, that would just contribute to illustrate the non-link of Lieberman and his party colleagues to the lands of the Middle East.

But the debate on overseas voting in Israel should also be noticed on the Palestinian side, especially as there are reforms in the PLO. The PLO is the para-statal organization representing the entire Palestinian people. But its institutions are dominant and its leadership is appointed by agreements of political factions, not general elections. The creation of the Palestinian National Authority after Oslo has led to the side-lining of the PLO and creating cleavages between the Palestinians living under occupation and those in exile. In order to have a leadership fully representative of the entire Palestinian people, there the Palestinian National Council ought to formed through elections, be it in Jerusalem, Nablus, Gaza and the refugee camps across the Arab world. That would create a PLO that could negotiate with the enemy on more equal terms.

Likud-Lieberman deal signed - one concrete step towards an Israeli rightwing govt

Yesterday, after weeks of wrangling negotiations, the first concrete step towards the formation of a new Israeli cabinet was taken. A deal on forming a coalition government was signed between the rightwing Likud of Benyamin Netanyahu and the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu of Avidgor Lieberman.

According to the deal, Yisrael Beiteinu will get the Foreign Affairs, Tourism, National Infrastructure, Absorption (i.e. integration of Jews migrating to Israel) and Public Security portfolios. The political maverick Avigdor Lieberman himself will become the next Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel. Notably, some political circles are a bit worried of the potential PR catastrophy of having the Zhirnovskyesque brute Lieberman as the face of Israel towards the international community. The fact that Lieberman was able to win that particular cabinet post, and that a party collegue of his will be in charge of 'Public Security', is a clear indication of the position of strength of Lieberman in the coalition talks. Lieberman's ascent to power denotes a marked shift of paradigms in Israeli politics, a testament of the increasingly intolerant and xenophobic mainstream Israeli polity.

Like many European counterparts, Lieberman seeks to redefine citizenship, arguing that citizenship should be revoked from 'illoyal' subjects. The idea that all citizens have to undertake patriotic pledges is also increasingly popular amongst West European politicians (in countries such as Sweden, with demands of mandatory language tests as a precondition for citizenship) who wish to benefit from xenophobic vote-banks.

Some commentators, hasbara bloggers and random political analysts, are quick to state that Lieberman doesn't represent the traditional Israeli far right and that labels such as 'ultranationalist' or 'fascist' are misleading. Lieberman is hated by sectors of West Bank settlers and disliked by some extreme rightist parties (see National Union smear-campaign video below) for his secularist positions. He supports many causes traditionally identified with liberals or leftists in Israeli politics. One such issue is the establishment of secular civil marriage unions, and demand partly met by Likud in the pre-coalition talks.


Lieberman and his party are part of an international phenomenon, an ongoing transformation and renewal of far-right politics. He is part of the same trend as Pim Fortyn in the Netherlands, the Norwegian Progress Party and the Austrian Jörg Haider. A shedding of skin of the far right could be one way to describe the process. Lieberman succesfully combines the core agenda of the far right (xenophobia) with a wide package of symbolic positionings against the traditional concept of rightwing extremism (allowing pork sales, supporting transports on the Sabbath, willingness to accept a two-state solution, willingness to concede lands to the Palestinians and withdrawing settlements, calling for Arabs to be drafted to the IOF). Thus many voters who would never think of touching a the far-right ballot can be mobilized, an the xenophobic agenda becomes part of the mainstream.

Before the elections, the pseudo-leftist Meretz had stated that they would urge international protests against a Lieberman government, similar to those directed against Austria after Jörg Haider's ascent to power in 2000. Arab Knesset member Ahmed Tibi has called for an 'international boycott' of Lieberman, stating that "No minister should meet him, especially no Arab minister".

But the Likud-Lieberman deal does not conclude the ordeal of securing an Israeli rightwing cabinet. The parties still stretch out a discrete olive branch to Livni's Kadima in order to form a broader unity cabinet (something Livni has rejected). Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu has 42 mandates together in the Knesset. They need another 19 to form a majority coalition. Talks are on with various ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties who are likely to join the cabinet. But there are various bones of contention between Lieberman and these parties. The criticism of the National Union (which has 4 seats) was noted above. Ultra-Orthodox forces like UTJ and Shas had campaigned with anti-Lieberman slogans, UTJ had called Lieberman a 'racist' whilst the Shas spiritual leader had stated that a vote for Lieberman was a satanic sin. Now they are likely to sit in the same cabinet. UTJ has rejected offers to get the Health or Social Affairs portfolios, stating that they demand to get the Construction portfolio (a portfolio also claimed by the National Union).

In short, the precarious game of coalition-building is far from over. But whoever wins in the end, the Palestinian people will suffer. Both Netanyahu and Lieberman promised the people of Gaza further bloodshed in the election campaign, and at this point there is no reason to doubt their intentions.

News links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Blogging: Mikael W, Jinge, DK, Huffington Post, Actualidad 2.0, Xavier, Kildén & Åsman, Yonne, Melin, Dr. Nasir Khan, Svensson, annarkia, Tidens tecken, Ernst Klein
See also: Patriarchy strikes back, moralist spying on female IOF draftees

Votes in settlements, kibbutzim and Bedouin villages

At Haaretz website you can read election results by city and sector. If you read Hebrew, Ynet has an interactive map of the results (with comparisons to 2003 and 2006). The Ynet map is a nightmare if you have a slow internet connection, though. Do note that the Ynet map includes both West Bank and Golan as parts of Israel, borders that are not internationally recognized. On the plus side, you can even see results at submunicipal levels at some places.

*Settlements: According to the Ynet map, 'Judea and Samaria' (i.e. West Bank settlers) have voted in the following fashion: Likud 25%, National Union 20%, United Torah Judaism 14%, Shas 11%, Kadima 8%, Jewish Home 8%, Yisrael Beiteinu 8%, Labour 2%, United Arab List-Ta'al 1%, Green Movement-Meimad 1%. Other parties got less than 1%.

*Kibbutzim: According to Haaretz, Kibbutzim votes have been divided along the following lines: Kadima 31%, Labour 31%, Meretz 18%, Likud 6%, Yisrael Beitenu 3%, Jewish Home 3%, Green Movement-Meimad 2%, National Union 2%, Ale Yarok (Green Left, pro-marijuana party) 1%, Green Party 1%, Shas 1%, Hadash 1%. Other parties received less than 1%.

*Bedouins: According to Haaretz, the Bedouin communities have predominately voted for the United Arab List-Ta'al (80%). Other parties in the Bedouin areas were National Democratic Assembly (Balad) 5%, Hadash 2%, Kadima 2%, Labour 2%, Shas 2%, Likud 1%, Green Party 1%, Yisrael Beitenu 1%, Meretz 1%. Other parties received less than 1%.