voting for US interests

On Friday I was in the car and heard on the radio about an argument between Yoel Hasson of Kadima and Gideon Sa'ar of the Likud.

Hasson was of the opinion that people should vote Kadima because Kadima will work better with the new American administration. Bringing Netanyahu to power will cause a rift between Israel and the US. Sa'ar, obviously felt otherwise.

Personally I think that is the stupidest reason to choose for whom to vote. Who you think the US president likes better.

That is the style of voting that is encouraged in new countries supported by the US, countries that the US encouraged to recently become democracies, banana republics in Africa or elsewhere that are looking to get something from the US. Usually in these countries the option is either the US backed candidate or a dictator who will probably mass murder all his opponents and throw their bodies into mass graves in the forest.

But Israel is a country that has been around for a while. It is a democracy, and has been since its inception. Israel relies on US support, but no one candidate has it more than the other, because the support is for Israel, not a specific person. One candidate is not bringing in democracy whith the other promising the murder his opponents. Both are pretty similar with slight differences in policy.

You should choose which party you vote for based on who you think will better serve Israel's interests, as you see them. If your only concern is who you think Barack Obama will like better, then you are not concerned about Israel's interests. You are concerned about the interests of the United States.

Vote for whomever you think will best serve Israel's interests. Whether that party is Labor, Kadima or Likud. Whether it is Ichud Leumi, Yisrael Beiteinu, Meretz, UTJ, Shas, or the Green Leaf party. But vote for Israel's interests, not those of any other country.