'Vote? Don’t make me laugh'
It wasn’t hard to find non-voters at Tel Aviv’s crowded coffee shops Tuesday; laziness kept some from the ballots, but others insist it was principle: 'Show me it will change something and then I’ll vote'
To some, Election Day is a day to exercise an important democratic right, but thousands of others, for various reasons, choose not to vote.
“I considered voting until I saw the campaign broadcasts. And then I felt nauseous and decided not to vote,” a salesman at a DVD store in Tel Aviv said Tuesday. “No one believes in it anyway, right? So what does it matter?”
Video: Ilan Lorenzi
Despite forecasts for rain, Tuesday was sunny and clear, and Tel Aviv coffee shops were more crowded than usual.
Many of them did not cast their votes, though not everyone wanted to admit so in front of the camera. “I don’t want to be interviewed for the same reason that I didn’t want to vote,” said one Tel Avivian, who preferred to take advantage of the day off to sleep late and watch the sports channel.
Election Day barbecue in north (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
Besides those who were kept from the ballots due to lack of motivation, interest, or plain laziness, others didn’t vote on principle. To them, their absence from the ballots was a sign of their involvement and concern.
“We won’t vote until they prove to us that something has changed,” a few said. One remarked, “I don’t have anyone to vote for. I am despaired by this country.”
In the north: Packed tourist sites
Thousands of Israelis took advantage of the day off to visit tourist sites in the Golan and Upper Galilee.
Some 800 visitors from around the country enjoyed the greenery at the Manara Cliff. The Navon family from Givatayim came in the morning with their three children. The mother, Ronit, said, “I’m sick of politics and politicians. If someone stood out as being capable of heading the country, like (Menachem) Begin or (Yitzhak) Rabin, I would vote. But right now there isn’t anyone like that and my vote won’t change anything.
Another family came from Kiryat Shmona with their five children. “We voted and then came out for a trip in the area. You can’t stay at home with kids all day and the nice weather is a good excuse to pack a picnic and go for a day trip in the north,” the father said.
Hagai Einav contributed to the report
