American Israelis make their bid with the Green team
By Josh Spiro <http://jta.org/user/profile/65287> · February 1, 2009
* Photos
<http://jta.org/news/article/2009/02/01/1002659/israeli-and-american-and-green-all-over#albumimage>
Alon Tal, the third candidate on the Green Movement-Meimad's Knesset
list, addressing the party's kick-off rally on Jan. 18 in Tel Aviv.Â
Also the photo credit is Yosef Israel Abramowitz. (Yosef Israel Abramowitz)
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Alon Tal, the third candidate on the Green Movement-Meimad's Knesset
list, addressing the party's kick-off rally on Jan. 18 in Tel
Aviv. Also the photo credit is Yosef Israel Abramowitz. (Yosef
Israel Abramowitz)
ISRAEL VOTES 2009
NEW YORK (JTA) -- For an Israeli politician, Gershon Baskin has an
unusual resume.
In the 1960s, he was protesting America's war in Vietnam, not fighting
against invading Arab armies. He grew up on Long Island marching for
civil rights, not wandering the alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City.
And that was all before his bar mitzvah.
Baskin says both his social conscience and his Zionism come from his
Zionist youth movement, Young Judaea.
It's no coincidence that "you find so many Young Judaea people of our
generation who have become social entrepreneurs and gotten engaged in
all kinds of initiatives to make Israeli society a better place," Baskin
told JTA.
Baskin is one of three Young Judaea graduates who are now
American-Israelis running on the Green Movement-Meimad
<http://hayeruka-meimad.org.il/english> ticket in Israel's election Feb.
10. Environmentalist Alon Tal occupies the party's No. 3 slot, while
Baskin is listed as 26th and entrepreneur and social activist Yosef
Abramowitz is No. 36.
The Green Movement, which is left-leaning and secular, merged with
Meimad, a left-leaning and moderate religious party, in the run-up to
the election. The party's platform focuses on energy policy and education.
"There is a lot of enthusiasm, especially since the decision to run
together with Meimad," Abramowitz said of the party's support base. "If
we win together and enter the Knesset together, it will solidify a
remarkable philosophical and ideological breakthrough in Jewish life."
Baskin, a crusader for Jewish-Arab coexistence, says he was prompted to
run for Knesset because he wants to be in a position to help drive the
Israeli government agenda.
"I personally got tired of telling politicians what they ought to do and
realized the time had come for me to stand up to the plate and take
responsibility," Baskin told JTA.
The founder of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information,
Baskin has spent the last few years crusading for coexistence through
everything from sharing the region's limited water to cross-border
business initiatives.
Tal, too, has sought to build bridges across borders. As founder of the
Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, he brings Israeli,
Palestinian and Jordanian graduate students together to work on
environmental problems.
In 2006, Tal's environmental work earned him the prestigious Charles
Bronfman Prize, a humanitarian award with a $100,000 prize. He also
founded the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, which counts among
its successes battling the dumping of sewage from Eilat into the Red Sea
and got a $10 million purification system installed in the Kishon River
near Haifa.
Tal says the paucity of Jews in Durham, N.C., connected him to his
fellow Jews and influenced his decision to move to Israel.
"There is a high percentage of Jewish North Carolinians who move to
Israel, and it's not because they don't like North Carolina," he said,
"but because they have a strong sense of Jewish identity."
Of the three, Abramowitz is the most recent transplant to Israel. Three
years ago, he and his family left their home near Boston for a desert
community, Kibbutz Ketura, near Eilat.
Despite their enthusiasm, it's unlikely any of the candidates will win a
Knesset seat. Even if the Green Movement, one of two environmental
parties vying for seats, gets a toehold in the parliament, the chances
that the party would win enough votes to seat three members are dim.
"Everything is against us and it's very hard to break in as a new
party," Tal acknowledged.
One of the challenges facing the party is the split of the environmental
vote. A recent survey conducted by the Jerusalem Post suggested that the
other environmental party, the Greens, could eke out a Knesset seat or
two -- 2 percent of the vote, or roughly 80,000 votes, are necessary to
win a seat -- but the Green Movement's odds aren't as good.
Despite the disillusionment of many Israelis with the larger parties,
concern with security is likely to keep them in power.
"I think the large parties will gain most of the votes," said Professor
Avner De-Shalit, a political science professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew
University. "Despite being not popular, people will vote for them
because of the recent war [in the Gaza Strip] and its effects."
Tal remains optimistic, however, predicting that the Green Movement "is
going to show up and surprise the pundits." He said his optimism is
fueled by the heavy traffic to the party's Web site and the increasing
interest in environmentalism in Israel -- evidenced by the growing
number of environmental activists and organizations -- over the past few
years.
The party's kickoff rally on Jan. 18 drew an estimated crowd of 1,200 to
2,000. In an event styled after a youth movement meeting, the crowd
formed a large circle to hear speeches and musical performances that
included Tal on saxophone and fiddle, as well as a rendition of Joni
Mitchell's environmentalist ballad "Big Yellow Taxi."
"Walking into the room, you realized, 'Oh my God, we're going to get
some seats in the Knesset,'" Abramowitz said.
In a bid to make the most of its limited budget, the party is employing
innovative campaign tactics, including sending text messages to
potential supporters, raising funds and awareness through house parties,
and running a Web site that appears in Hebrew, English, Arabic and Russian.
Still, for all but the top candidates on the list, the election is not
about landing a Knesset seat.
"My goal is not to become a Knesset member," said Abramowitz, who refers
to his 36th slot on his party's list as "double chai." "My goal is to
bring solar power to the State of Israel."
Abramowitz, founder of the Arava Power Company, one of Israel's biggest
solar developers, was brought into the party as a solar energy and
business expert.
Baskin, on the other hand, has his sights set on making it into the
Knesset -- at least someday.
"I think I'll do much better next time," he said of his party ranking,
No. 26. "I think what I bring to the party is the non-environmental
agenda, ensuring that this party also addresses social and political
issues like peace with the Arab world."
Linda
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