Grapevine: The Polish Presidential election that wasn't

The Polish presidential elections were just one of many events to be canceled thanks to coronavirus.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
PRESIDENT REUVEN RIVLIN meets with Druze spiritual leader Mowafak Tarif (photo credit: MARK NEYMAN/GPO)
PRESIDENT REUVEN RIVLIN meets with Druze spiritual leader Mowafak Tarif
(photo credit: MARK NEYMAN/GPO)
If you were wondering why you didn’t see the results of the Polish presidential elections in the various media outlets, it’s because they were canceled at the last minute. The elections were scheduled for last Sunday, but after the pandemic, it was decided at too late a stage that they would be conducted by postal ballot. This decision, at somewhat short notice, led to chaos and confusion, which ultimately caused Sunday’s election to be scrapped and rescheduled for a later date. The ruling party wants to see the return of President Andrzej Duda, who was a front-runner but is now losing ground due to the effect the coronavirus precautions have had on the economy.
For this reason, the ruling party would liked to have had the vote for president take place as soon as possible, while Duda is still ahead, but Duda’s rivals are keener on drawing out the period for the finalization of the new date. Meanwhile as politicians argue, rather than debate, over what would be the final date for the elections, the number of coronavirus cases is increasing, passing 17,000 confirmed infections, while at the same time the economy is deteriorating – a factor that could negatively impact on Duda’s chances to remain in office.
Constitution Day in Poland on May 3 was very low key, though in past years Polish ambassadors to Israel hosted Constitution Day receptions to mark the fact that Poland’s Constitution, drafted May 3, 1791, is the second oldest in the world after that of the United States, which was ratified June 21, 1788.
On a more cheerful note, Poland’s borders will reopen on May 23, which means people on frequent commutes between Israel and Poland can begin planning their next trip.
■ SINCE RETURNING to her previous profession as a broadcaster, former Labor MK Shelly Yachimovich, who was once the leader of her party, is unfortunately prone to making glaring mistakes in people’s names, including those of some of her former Knesset colleagues. The reason of course, is that while holy books and literature for young children are printed with vowels (nikud), most documents, newspapers, magazines and books are printed without vowels, with the upshot that Yachimovich is not the only broadcaster who makes these mistakes. There are two options the incoming education minister should consider. One is phonetic spelling as in Yiddish, and the other is to introduce vowels into all printed and handwritten texts.Some of the worst mistakes occur when non-Hebrew words, which are more or less universal, are written in Hebrew and grossly mispronounced, for instance when transliterating an English word with a “w,” because there is no equivalent to “w” in modern Hebrew, and the two “vavs” that replace it just add to the confusion. Enough said. Let’s just find a solution to the problem.
■ COINCIDENTALLY, IN the same month as the law that criminalizes clients of the oldest profession goes into effect, Israelis are witnessing the most outrageous example of political prostitution in the nation’s history. Why should anyone whose party or faction would not have passed the electoral threshold have the right to be a minister and to receive a high salary from the public purse while tens of thousands of citizens are starving? Why is there no law that demands that a candidate for minister must have served a full Knesset term or at least three years before being eligible to join the cabinet?
The new government includes a number of political rookies whose only Knesset experience was gleaned between three consecutive election campaigns over a 17-month period. Of the 120 MKs, only three can trace their legislative careers back to the 12th Knesset which convened in November 1988. They are Benjamin Netanyahu, Tzachi Hanegbi and Amir Peretz. All three have served in ministerial positions, and all three took breaks from the Knesset and returned. Hanegbi is a second-generation MK. His late mother, Geulah Cohen, who entered Knesset in January 1974, served in the 8th to 12th Knessets inclusive, until July 1992. The current Knesset includes three former chiefs of staff, two in the government and one in the opposition. Altogether, a dozen former chiefs of staff have become legislators and ministers. The list includes: Yigael Yadin, Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Haim Bar-Lev, Mordechai Gur, Rafael Eitan, Ehud Barak, Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Shaul Mofaz, and the current three Benny Gantz, Gabi Ashkenazi and Moshe Y'alon.
■ MOST OF the senior citizens who were still working for the first two or three months of this year are fighting to be allowed to return to their jobs. Others are still wary of going outside. But President Reuven Rivlin, who is an octogenarian, ventured not only beyond his Jerusalem neighborhood this week, but way beyond his city, traveling to kibbutzim near the Gaza border, where he was escorted by Gadi Yarkoni, head of the Eshkol Regional Council, along with farmers Dan Weizman from Ein Habesor, Lior Katri from Moshav Ohad, Galil Nachum from Moshav Mivtahim, Yohanan Kopler from Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, Yedidia Hochman from Moshav Bnei Netzarim, Orna Eisenstein from Kibbutz Magen and Shmuel Blaverman from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.
Included in his tour was the field of corn and sunflower seeds near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, where he heard from local agriculturalists about the crops they are growing and the labor and monetary problems they are confronting. He also visited Kibbutz Be’eri, home of the Hinoman cultivation company, which via a hydroponic system, breeds, develops and cultivates the protein-rich Mankai duckweed plant, which has many uses.
The farmers were all excited by Rivlin’s presence, believing that the president’s visit signaled the beginning of the end of the coronavirus crisis.
Rivlin also gave them hope for better times ahead when he said: “Coronavirus has opened our eyes to things that were once taken for granted, and we simply forgot them. For example, the importance of the foundations of this country, one of which is agriculture. The phrase ‘buy blue and white’ was significant and we knew that we could always take best care of ourselves and we were proud of it. Over time, market constraints and economic issues have led the way, but the situation these days reminds us of the fundamentals. Israel’s independence is the most important thing, and without agriculture, Israel has no independence. From here I ask, Israeli citizens, to buy blue and white. Buy Israeli produce. Buy the wonderful produce we have here.”
Earlier in the week, Rivlin met, with the forum of Druze and Circassian local council heads, who were accompanied by Sheikh Mowafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community and MKs Fateen Mulla (Likud), Hamad Amer (Yisrael Beytenu) and Gadeer Mreeh (Yesh Atid). Others in the delegation represented the councils of Daliat al-Carmel, Usfiya, Peki’in, Abu Sinan, Rama, Sajur, Kfar Kama, Kisra-Sumeia, Hurfeish, Beit Jann and Maghar.
Like so many others in Israel, the Druze and Circassian communities were promised budgets that  they did not receive and council heads requested that Rivlin intervene on their behalf to facilitate the transfer of the NIS 200 million that had been promised to them.
Forum chairman Jaber Hammoud, informed Rivlin of a long list of promises and government resolutions that have not been implemented. “The feeling we get is of the government betraying the Druze and Circassian populations in budgets and decisions since the passage of the Nation-State Law.”
His colleagues added that their communities are the only ones operating without a development plan or multiyear plans. Grants to their communities have been cut while others have been enlarged,
Rivlin was confident the government will do everything possible to enable the expansion of the Druze and Circassian villages, but suggested that wisdom be applied and that everything be done in partnership with the government. He also assured his guests that he was doing his utmost to ensure equal rights for all citizens.
During the week, Rivlin continued with his telediplomacy, speaking with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who had been scheduled to come to Israel for the Independence Day celebrations and to mark the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany, but those plans were scuttled by the coronavirus.
In connection with international cooperation in the battle against the pandemic, Rivlin also spoke to President Milo Dukanovic of Moldova and to Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey, expressing his solidarity with them, their medical staff, and with the COVID-19 patients. He also expressed sorrow over the fatalities from the disease, and in his conversation with Murphy, thanked him for fighting the antisemitism leveled at the Jewish community in New Jersey as a consequence of the pandemic.
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