Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz and Labor chairwoman Shelly Yacimovich visited the
students of Blich High School in Ramat Gan on Wednesday morning as the school
began its traditional model election.
Both Mofaz and Yacimovich presented
their political positions to the teenagers in the school’s spacious conference
hall.
The simulation at Blich is typically known for its relatively
accurate reflection of the results of past national elections.
For the
past two weeks, the high-schoolers have been studying the ideologies and plans
of each party running for Knesset in the January 2013 elections, following which
they chose the party they identify with the most.
As the simulation
began, fliers were given out in the schoolyard, which was adorned with posters
of the candidates and filled with stands representing each party.
The
school also appointed an election committee, responsible for writing the
election code of ethics that defines the allowed campaigning methods and the
appropriate behavior during both speeches and the voting process
itself.
“This exercise is important because they get to learn about each
party’s position; they are involved, they are more interested and they take part
in the social and political aspects of the country,” principal Revital Lev-
Goren told Channel 2 on Wednesday.
“If we manage to predict the outcome
this year as well, that will be great, but more so than the results, the process
is what’s important, a process of active citizenship, of involvement, of
learning and of action,” she added.
During his speech, Mofaz addressed a
few subjects about which the students had asked, such as social issues, reaching
an agreement with Palestinians and drafting soldiers from all sectors of society
equally, including the haredi community.
Among other questions from
students, Mofaz was asked about his position on the Iranian threat, to which he
replied that Israel cannot let Tehran obtain a nuclear weapon, but that, in
order to avoid a regional war, “the road to the solution needs to first be a
diplomatic one.”
“Something I learned throughout my career in defense is
that you can’t obtain everything through force. I believe in using force as the
last alternative, not the first one,” he continued.
When asked to give
his reaction to Tzipi Livni’s establishment of a new party, Mofaz answered,
“What happened was a process of nonacceptance of democratic results. After
losing the election for party leader, we expected her to stay and put all her
efforts into helping Kadima remain as the main centrist party in
Israel.”
“In my opinion, the cause and devotion are more important than
being number two or number one. Her decision contradicts what I believe in,
which is unity. In unity, there is much more power,” he said.
At the end
of the speech, Mofaz praised the student’s civic involvement and shook hands
with students sitting in the first few rows of the assembly hall.
“I
connected very much to what he said,” 17-year-old Omer Lefkovit told
The
Jerusalem Post. “He talked about equality for army drafting and cheaper housing;
those are issues that are important to me.”
Lefkovit stood by the Yesh
Atid stand in the schoolyard, supporting his favorite candidate, Yair
Lapid.
“I think Lapid stands for more or less the same things, but he has
a concrete plan; he has a prepared method for what he wants to
achieve.
The issue with Kadima is that they had 28 seats in the past
election and they couldn’t figure out how to use that strength,” he
explained.
Although he is too young to vote, Lefkovit said he considers
it a duty.
“It’s important because we all live here. I live here and I’ll
continue to live here, so I have to be active.”
Eight hundred students in
the eleventh and twelfth grades at Blich High School will go to the polls next
Thursday.
The school will host Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid and Habayit
Hayehudi’s Naftali Bennett on Thursday morning.
Shas’s Eli Yishai is also
expected to speak at Blich during the week.