When gossip columns reach the Knesset
Op-ed: A long list of worthy people with political orientation, ideology and good intentions will not make it into Israel's legislative body because of party leaders' pathetic competition over who will recruit the most famous name for their list.
I have nothing against Eli Ohana. Why should I? He is one of the State of Israel's greatest footballers, a source of pride for thousands of Israelis. And even if the picture engraved in my mind is of a shampoo commercial he starred in, it's clear to me that many of the state's citizens see him as a symbol.
I am also absolutely certain that Ayelet Shaked, No. 2 on the Bayit Yehudi list, did look into the issue and found out, as she claimed on Tuesday, that Ohana is not only the Sephardic secular Naftali Bennett wanted for his party, he is also "intelligent" – a combination which, as far as the Bayit Yehudi members are concerned, apparently doesn’t quite match. But Bennett, the party's talented chairman, managed to locate these three traits in one person.
I have a lot of sympathy towards former Miss Israel Linor Abargil as well, especially for her courage in dealing with the trauma she experienced before winning the Miss World beauty pageant. Jana Khodirker, another former Miss Israel, is probably a good person, and the same applies to former MTV Europe VJ Eden Harel, who is not only on television, but is also married to children's star Oded Menashe, so it's actually two for the price of one.
They are all good people, famous names from the gossip columns. We know where they hang out, who they go out with and which events they are invited to. The only question is: What do these people have to do with the Knesset?
Moreover, why do party leaders think that if they put these people on their lists, we will get so excited and rush to vote for their parties? Is that what Bennett thinks about the Israeli public, that if he secures a place for Ohana it will create a long line of voters who have so far avoided supporting him? And is Eden Harel or Channel 10 correspondent Zvi Yehezkeli, who Bennett also tried to match to his party, the added value which will turn Bayit Yehudi into the largest party in the next Knesset?
It's particularly annoying on the day that former IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz was forced to bid farewell to political life because there was not a single party which could find a spot for him, and former Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan's chances of reaching the next Knesset have become very slim because Ohana is pushing him out of the list.
The Likud has been unable to finalize its list for the past month because it's still unclear who won the 20th spot, Avi Dichter or Tzipi Hotovely. If the prime minister had given Hotovely a secured spot instead of the delusional offer he made to Jerusalem Post editor Caroline Glick, it would be a done deal. Excuse me, but is there really such an unfathomable difference between Hotovely and Glick that justifies this farce?
Hotovely, who received a promise from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately after the primary elections that she would be in the next Knesset, is now learning what Netanyahu's promises are worth. Even if she does end up in the Knesset, she will get there all worn out.
In general, the party leaders' use of the right they have been given – to secure people they wish to honor – is turning out to be a bad joke. Worthy people, with a political orientation, with ideology and good intentions, invest money and efforts and fight for a place on the list, and then comes the head of the list and brings in a footballer or a beauty queen or a journalist who until two days ago showed no interest in politics, and tomorrow will be sitting in the Constitution, Finance or Education committees, just because Bennett or Netanyahu or Avigdor Lieberman thought that their name would attract more voters.
It's pathetic. It's insulting. It's even cruel. I don’t remember seeing any party leaders run after Elazar Stern, an outstanding Knesset member, when he found himself outside Tzipi Livni's party. Not to mention Mofaz. With all due respect to the Zionist Camp's list, they could have made a greater effort to make room for the former defense minister and chief of staff.
There is a long list of people who will not make it to the next Knesset just because of this ridiculous competition between party heads over who will recruit a more famous name for their list.
But the sad thing is the politicians' appreciation of the public's common sense. Bennett must see us as a group of intellectually disabled children, who enjoy collecting cards featuring celebrities, regardless of their skills or abilities to contribute to the legislative body. And Netanyahu is like the child who envies Bennett's collection and is trying to get hold of the better card at all costs.
But I have news for them: We are not the ones who are intellectually disabled. And we are probably not the ones enchanted by these temporary stars. The Israeli public is much more serious than they think. Bennett should take the Bayit Yehudi supporters' reactions to his new secured star very seriously. And Netanyahu should learn something from Bennett's experience.
Because if this is the trend, we may soon see reality television star Lihi Griner, who is also a good person and maybe even lights Shabbat candles, invited to a press conference with one of the party leaders who sees her as an asset to his party.
