Yisrael Hazaka gets on-line voting right the first time

Likud and Labor might want to take notes.

By SHELLY PAZ
sneh 224.88 (photo credit: Gal Tziperman Lotan)
sneh 224.88
(photo credit: Gal Tziperman Lotan)
Maybe the Likud and Labor parties should take notes. Yisrael Hazaka (Strong Israel), the party established by former Labor MK Ephraim Sneh, held its first on-line election via the party's Web site Wednesday, in the comfort of the members' houses or in polling stations opened for the sake of those without Internet access. At 10:40 on Wednesday night, the new party published the results of the primary, in which 1,023 members voted on 11 candidates for the Knesset. "We went for a new and transparent system, and in addition, we limited the candidates' propaganda to one Internet Web page. Candidates could call the party's members, send them e-mails and hold conventions, but not print ads. This way should be adopted by the entire country," Sneh said. Sneh himself believes that the fact that the party members are common people from all sectors of society is the party's real edge. "The common denominator of my team is that they care, they don't look for benefits or jobs. I intentionally chose to go with a list of Israelis who care and who want a different Israel," Sneh said. Sneh was followed on the party list by physician Gal Ifargan of Beersheba's Soroka Hospital; economist Omer Sela, who participated in Shai Agassi's Better Place Project; Sinai Barazani, the former deputy director-general of the National Parks Authority; former Shinui MK Erela Golan; Oren Toktali, one of the founders of Channel 2; filmmaker Tiki Vids; education specialist Mahmoud Zahalka; Avinoam Talbi, director-general of the Association of Sherut Taxi Drivers in Israel; Boaz Sharkensky, a pharmacist from Ramat Gan; former Labor MK and Ben-Gurion biographer Prof. Michael Bar-Zohar; and Dov Finetuch, who is a director at the Israeli Wine Institute.