Israel general discussion

[Tintrlvr]

So Galon is basically like the Meretz equivalent to Hillary Clinton, and Gilon is more like Bernie Sanders?

Gilon is way, way to Sanders's left, much closer to traditional communist economic views than most self-declared socialists are today (while Sanders is on the right of socialism). And Galon is well left of Hillary Clinton, probably closer economically to Sanders. Meretz in general is far to the left of the Democratic Party (it is, after all, a party that could command no more than maybe 10% of the vote in Israel at absolute maximum, the total it got at its peak in 1992).

[Tintrlvr]

(the law says you need 1/3 of a party to split, meaning they’ll need more defectors).

What does this mean? Can they quit, join the party and keep the seats? I know these splits were widespread earlier in Israel's history when the parties were often incredibly general and undifferentiated by policy.

If less than 1/3 of the MKs leave the party, they lose their Knesset seats and get replaced by the next people on their old party's list.

Yes, this isn't how it used to be. They passed a law in the last decade to prevent the constant party switching/fracturing.

Couldn't they instead just sit as independents and then run as a new party at the next election? Isn't that what Orly Levy did?

[Tintrlvr]

The Knesset is currently debating a law that will allow the creation of segregated township only for Jews. Israeli president Reuven Rivlin sent a letter to the constitutional commission of the Knesset asking members not to vote a law that fosters "discrimination and exclusion in the name of a zionist vision". Rivlin warned the current draft allows without restrictions that every locality can determine the exclusion of Mizrahim, Druze or LGTB people and could be used as a weapon by the enemies of Israel. Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan reacted saying that the letter is an "interference in the legislative process". Attorney general Avihai Mandelblit says that segregating population is unacceptable. A member of the attorney's office told Haaretz that the draft  i clearly discriminatory and could allow the ban of Jewish people by a given community.

A Bedouin village could decide the future of the Palestinian state. "Only a court order stands between Khan al-Ahmar and the bulldozers. And if it goes, the West Bank will be split in two", says The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/07/khan-al-ahmar-west-bank-bedouin-village-facing-destruction

Insights?

Well, if that passes, they’re certainly not trying very hard to counter the Israel-is-an-apartheid-state accusation.

[Tintrlvr]

Nivin Abu Rahmon was sword in as MK for Joint List (balad), raising their tally of women to 3.

Though elections is right around the corner next after her are two Jewish women in Lea Zemmel (balad) and Noa Levy (Hadash).

Balad has Jewish members? I thought only Hadash did of the Joint List parties.