Let's remember - to get into the Knesset, one needs to garner the votes of about 130,000 to 150,000 people, with some variance, depending on voter turnout. That is a lot of people.
So many one-issue parties try to get into the Knesset, and they [almost] always fail. (I cannot think of any that has gotten in, but it might have happened.) Yet in every election we see more people opening parties to run in the elections on a one-issue platform. Such parties are counting on people to not just support that one-issue and think it is important enough to support and vote for but that it is more important than all other issues on the table and vote for it despite all the other issues that are definitely important and that most people have opinions about.
It is a bit of a conundrum how people see what happens in each election but then go and open more one-issue parties each and every time.
Some people are now opening such a party, with its one issue being the release form prison of Yigal Amir. The party says it wants to bring about his release by exposing the truth about the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin.
Amir's family says they are not connected to this party yet his brother Chaggai and hsi wife Larisa Trimbobler have been seen involved in a recent conference for the establishment of the party.
MK Amir Peretz, now chairman of the Labor Party, has appealed to the electoral board to reject their application and prevent them from running in the upcoming elections.
(source: Kipa)
We should not be a police state. I have no problem banning Yigal Amir from running in elections. These other people, whomever they are, did nothing wrong. If they think they can get 140,000 or so people to support this idea, let them try. Let the people tell them they are being ridiculous or let the people support them. They are a one issue party that thinks there are at least 140000 people who think getting Yigal Amir out of jail is more important than any of the other issues Israel is facing. Let them run and let them fail on their own.
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I particularly like then polyamorous party of 4 wives waiting for the next 26 years for their husband to be released from jail for violent abuse; guess he's not close to MK Litzman but their platform seems reasonable and as realistic as the any other parties'.
ReplyDeleteThe primary goal of most such parties is to get the relatively cheap access to public broadcasting that is part and parcel of the Election Law. They have no intention of actually running, and many even formally withdraw right before election day, so as not to waste people's votes.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, the objection is based on those same grounds - they want to prevent that access to the mainstream media platforms that would come with letting the party run. So the actual issue becomes whether a call to release Amir is something that is worthy of access to public media or not.