Very interestingly, Kadima is finally taking a stand on something. This proposed law of allowing Israeli expats to vote absentee has upset Tzipi Livni and others in Kadima and has given them something to oppose the government on, despite their lack of any serious opposition until now.

Livni has been getting former generals to sign and speak out that they oppose allowing expats to vote, as only people who feel their future is in Israel should be allowed to. I am not sure why they went with generals as their tactic. It would seem more appropriate for them to have asked "men of spirit" - poets, academics, intellectuals, writers, artists, etc. to oppose this. This is not a security issue, rather more of a philosophical issue.

I have not heard Shaul Mofaz yet express an opinion on the matter, and I wonder why. I wonder if he is not saying anything because he is still looking to join the Likud. And now, according to news reports, activists in kadima have given Mofaz an ultimatum - that if he does not join the coalition by the end of February, they will en masse leave Kadima and join the Likud on their own.

I wonder if he is not speaking out on the expat law so as not to hurt his chances, by upsetting Bibi, of joining the Likud in the near future. While a Likudnik can speak out against Bibi's policy (like Benny Begin publicly opposed the expat law), it might be uncomfortable and inappropriate for someone from another party to oppose it and then to join the party.