Working in the media during election season can feel like a scene from Waiting
for Godot; there is an endless sense of waiting, of moving on a train inexorably
towards some destination. Although the time and place of the destination are
known, it doesn’t make the waiting any easier. The contributors are able to
examine pieces of the election, certain polls or momentary scandals, from unique
perspectives, but the editor has no chance to get off the moving train and look
at these details one at a time. And when the election eventually comes, unless
one is living in one of those countries where elections are indefinitely
postponed, it isn’t clear that Godot has arrived. So we find ourselves in such a
position this week.
For the US election
The Jerusalem Post ran several op-eds
and a special election page on Tuesday. Hillel Schenker, the acting chair of
Democrats Abroad, argued that “we really don’t know” much about Republican
candidate Mitt Romney and what he believes. Bryna Franklin, a former chair of
Democrats abroad focused her op-ed on why she was switching to Romney, on the
Obama camp's “hostility to Israel.” Shmuley Boteach, who is running for Congress
in New Jersey and has been a long-time
Jerusalem Post columnist, noted that the
major hurricane that hit the eastern seaboard had a uniting affect on US
politics. Michael Felsen, president of the Boston Workmen’s Circle, argued that
American Jews should be worried about declining social trends in the US, such as
the percentage of US citizens that are incarcerated. Isi Leibler also noted in
his column that this was an “election of great importance for Israel…there is a
vast chasm between the approaches of both candidates in relation to the Arab
world.” Nancy Soderberg of the University of North Florida, wrote that US
President Barack Obama’s record at the UN has been strongly
pro-Israel.
The Israeli election also received a great deal of coverage
last week. The major story was the Likud-Yisrael Beyteynu merger. Daneil Tauber,
of Likud Anglos, who is a candidate for the Likud’s Knesset list, argued that
the merger was “diluting the party’s moral strength," and Jeff Barak also
attacked the Likud for “abandoning Jabotinsky.” Jonathan Rosen cautioned readers
to be wary of slogans and hold candidates to actually do something about major
status quo issues, such as drafting haredim to the army. Yehoshua Oz of the
Israeli Democracy Institute argued that it is time for the country to embrace
big-tent parties on the Left and the Right, “if we hope to restore Israel to a
more stable political situation.” David Shaw also contributed a piece arguing
for electoral reform that stop the gridlock that stems from having numerous
parties and proportional representation.
Another interesting event in the
news last week was the visit of the Emir of Qatar to the Gaza Strip. This
surprised many since the Palestinian government is in Ramallah and a visit to
Gaza gives more than tacit support for Hamas. Why would Qatar, which has
seemingly been a champion of moderation in the Middle East, go to Gaza? Kenneth
Bandler of the American Jewish Committee, argued that “Qatar has sought to take
advantage of shifting political winds, repercussions of the so-called Arab
Spring, to use its vast financial resources to extent its regional influence.”
Also last week several writers memorialized events from our past. Gil Troy wrote
about the role of the Monuments Men in the second World War, Michael Freund
covered the lasting importance of the Balfour declaration of 1917, and Walter
Bingham wrote about living in Germany during the Kristallnacht of 1938.
Remembering these important past events should put the elections obsession in
perspective. With each election there are those that argue it is of the greatest
importance. To some extent this is true, long term trends can be set in motion
by an election, especially of an extremist like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez or
Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but many elections come and go without those
long-term trends necessarily being impact.
The writer is The
Jerusalem Post
's opinion editor.
Schenker -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=289732Franklin -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=289733Boteach -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=289885Felsen -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributor/Article.aspx?id=289883Leibler -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=290011Soderberg -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=290013
Tauber -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=290015Rosen -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=290020Oz -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=290027Barak -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=289593Shaw -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=289608Bandler -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=289743Freund -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=290018Bingham -
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=289880