Exactly one week after America decides who will be their new president, Israelis will be voting in municipal elections. Hoardings have been erected all over Ra'anana to display the candidates, and on recent Friday mornings candidates have taken advantage of the pre-Shabbat and Succot festival bustle to work the crowds milling around the center of town. In addition to "pressing the flesh," the Meretz party has made some short campaign films. But this is one municipal election when world events are having a special impact locally, and you might imagine that the parties would want to let us know their thoughts on, say, the global economic meltdown. Meretz, however, has seen fit to concentrate yet again on (yawn) religious coercion in Ra'anana, and the party has just produced the most tasteless film on this non-issue. For those who are interested, the clip can be viewed at www.youtube.com (see photos). The film features two men in a public urinal and is a distinctly un-funny play on the Hebrew word "hanut," which means both "shop" and "trouser flies." At the end of the film, one man suddenly zips himself up and closes the second man's "hanut" while he is still urinating. "Why?" asks the second man, who is now soaking wet. "Shabbat," replies the first man. A caption then says: "Only Meretz will safeguard against closing 'the shop' on Shabbat." I've lived in Ra'anana for 14 years, and if religious coercion does exist in the city, I've obviously missed it. The shops along Ra'anana's main street and in the mall do indeed close on Shabbat, but they are open at the periphery of the city, as are restaurants and cinemas. This religious status quo has long been a feature of Ra'anana, but you can rely on Meretz to cry "religious coercion" at every opportunity and in every municipal election. Most recently, the party got its knickers in a twist over the six hours that were allotted for women-only swimming sessions in the new pool in Ra'anana - out of the 60 hours that it is open each week. This, Meretz claims, is enforcing religion on the city. My secular neighbor only swims during those six hours, because she says it is more comfortable for her. Although not Shabbat-observant, she has no problem with - and indeed appreciates - having a quieter day once a week. There is a lovely atmosphere here at the moment. Most people have been enjoying the festive Succot activities and events, whether they are religious or not. There are succot everywhere, including outside non-kosher restaurants. What a pity that Meretz picked this particular time to lose the plot. Actually, that's not quite accurate, because losing the plot implies having had a grasp of it in the first place. Even if we are generous and assume that the film was in the pipeline before the current global economic crisis, the decision should have been made to pull the plug. The party's toilet humor shows that its candidates are incapable of properly addressing the issues that are of most concern to all the residents of Ra'anana.