Last week I read somewhere about a plan that Shas would do some campaigning in Ramat Aviv. The article said they know they don't have much of an audience there, but they would do something that would make them the talk of the town. Even without drawing voters from that specific neighborhood, they would be provocative enough that they would get a lot of publicity out of it.
Last night Shas plastered the neighborhood of Ramat Aviv with signs saying, if you live in Ramat Aviv, don't vote for Shas, but if you work for the people who live in Ramat Aviv, then vote only Shas.
I don't know if it will work or not, but it is a creative initiative. Not only is it a provocative campaign, but they might actually get some votes out of it - the votes of the people who work but do not live in Ramat Aviv.
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Shas has always had a flare for these kinds of things.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention a flair.
DeleteUnfortunately, the reality is quite different. Shas HURTS poor people for at least the following reasons:
ReplyDelete(I) any country has only limited resources for social welfare -- the actual level is up for debate, but resources by definition are limited. Shas encourages able-bodied men to eschew work, go to Kollel, become VOLUNTARILY poor and then to DUMP themselves onto the welfare system. This is what happens in Beit Shemesh.. These voluntarily poor are then encouraged to 'split the welfare pie' with the involuntary poor. The more voluntary poor, the less there is for everyone the involuntarily poor. If you are some average non-religious poor person, being forced to split the welfare resources with kollel learners is the WORST thing that could happen to you.
(ii) the Shas educational system provides at most a poor secular education, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. The children who get sent to Shas school grow up ill prepared to enter the work world;
(iii) at times, Shas (especially under Deri ) has supported the Left Wing (mostly in exchange for mikvahs and kollel budgets). When the buses start exploding, the poor on public transport are MUCH more exposed than those with cars., When the missiles start flying, the weak who live in old apartment buildings are LEAST able to deal with the consequences. In another example, the pain of lost wages due to terror attacks is MUCH more acute for poor people.
CONCLUSION -- Shas talks a big game, but actually HURTS poor people.
Yep. It's clever. I still don't trust them as far as I can throw them. Hmm... shas.org.il now seems to redirect to Arye Deri's Facebook page.
ReplyDeleteWhere can I find the party's candidate list for the coming elections?
It's obvious: (1) Deri (2) Deri's son (3) Deri's son-in-law (4) Deri's uncle's best friend (5) Deri's "shiryon" candidate....
Deletethe real problem with this campaign is that it assumes poor sefardim are working in Ramat Aviv as housecleaners or other low-end jobs. Most of those jobs are probably taken by Philipinos who cannot vote, rather than sefardim...
ReplyDeleteTrue, but maybe also as kiosk managers and fallafel shop managers, etc.
ReplyDelete