Who would you vote for in Israel?

[Famous Mortimer]

This will be fun

[Famous Mortimer]

Meretz

Damn. I knew I missed someone.

[Famous Mortimer]

I would normally vote for Labor except when they have a crappy leader (ie not a very economically left-wing one). They have a crappy leader so I would vote Hadash as a protest vote.

[Famous Mortimer]

Which one is the anti-Zionist anti-terrorism anti-apartheid option?

You're probably looking for Hadash, aka the Communists. If that makes you uncomfortable, then I don't know what to tell you. You could also vote for United Arab List.

United Arab List isn't anti-terrorism. Their old leader was supportive of suicide bombing. Also they're Islamists.

If there does end up being a join Arab list with Hadash, UAL, and Balad, I would probably switch back to Labor.

[Famous Mortimer]

I'm to the left on economics and somewhat moderate on issues of Israel's security.

Meretz seems like the worst of both worlds to me, timid about calling themselves socialist and naively dovish.

I would support them under Ran Cohen or Ilan Gilon though, as it's my understanding they were more economically oriented leadership candidates.

[Famous Mortimer]

Well Hadash is mostly supported by Arabs but it has one token Jewish MK.

Meretz is mostly supported by Jews but it has one token Arab MK.

Hadash is non/anti-Zionist.

Meretz claims to still be Zionist but there's not much evidence for this.

Hadash is a front of the Communist Party.

Meretz is partially the organizational successor to Mapam, who were kinda sorta like pre-WWI unreformed Marxist social democrats.

Hadash mostly focuses on Arab/peace issues and doesn't talk much about economics, although when they do they are left-wing.

Meretz mostly focuses on peace issues and doesn't talk much about economics, although when they do they have flirted with neo-liberalism.

[Famous Mortimer]

Also, very very sorry for not including Meretz. Terrible oversight. I tried to add them but I couldn't.

If a moderator has the power, I request that you do it for me.

I assume every "Other" vote is actually for Meretz?

[Famous Mortimer]

Well Hadash is mostly supported by Arabs but it has one token Jewish MK.

Meretz is mostly supported by Jews but it has one token Arab MK.

Hadash is non/anti-Zionist.

Meretz claims to still be Zionist but there's not much evidence for this.

Hadash is a front of the Communist Party.

Meretz is partially the organizational successor to Mapam, who were kinda sorta like pre-WWI unreformed Marxist social democrats.

Hadash mostly focuses on Arab/peace issues and doesn't talk much about economics, although when they do they are left-wing.

Meretz mostly focuses on peace issues and doesn't talk much about economics, although when they do they have flirted with neo-liberalism.

Ok thanks for the short explanation. I'm not entirely sure what being Zionist or not still actually implies in the Israeli political context though. Is it just wanting to have and keep a Jewish State ? As opposed to a secular, or multicultural State ? I'm a bit confused.

In any case, I guess I would then vote Meretz as an Arab, and Hadash as a Jew. I have a contradictory mind...

Meretz wants to keep "a Jewish state" but by that they presumably mean a state in which Jews coincidentally have a majority. They want the state to be secular and grant no privileges based on ethnicity. How that differs from the Arab parties' calls for Israel to become a "bi-national state" or a "state of its peoples" is probably purely semantic.

[Famous Mortimer]

I mean, they are Zionist in the classical, early 20th century sense, that they support the right of Jews to exist in the middle east (as they are mostly Jews existing in the middle east) but I think the word has evolved past them.

Hadash also supports the right of Jews to keep living (and theoretically all the Arab parties do including Fatah and Hamas) but they don't claim to be Zionist.

It's basically just a self identification for "not an anti-system party"

[Famous Mortimer]

So as of right now:

Labor 10
Meretz 9 (assuming all other votes are for Meretz and the one guy who said he would have voted for them)
Hadash 6
Likud 6
Yisrael Beytenu 2
The Jewish Home 2
Yesh Atid 1
United Torah Judaism 1
United Arab List 1
Balad 1

[Famous Mortimer]

Oh man, Yossi Beilin was 10 years ago already? Maybe it's time for me to forgive them.

[Famous Mortimer]

Hope for Change, an Uncle Tom Arab party that won 600 votes in the last election, is on the ballot again this time. They aren't only Christians though.