Israelis vote primarily based on which party best represents their priorities and beliefs, making the election process a direct expression of policy preference, as opposed to a contest of personality.
It's true, the American people vote for personality (though only half of them). The biggest reason is ignorance on the issues and no interest in pursuing enlightenment. The Israelis probably have a much much higher of percentage of people who truly educate themselves on the policies and issues. Too many Americans now can barely read and the younger generations admit they get most of their news and info from the cesspool called Tik Tok (that is not a joke. That IS their news source). And they vote, too. Add to that a mostly corrupt news media that clearly works for one political party and completely lies about the other, and you have a hot mess here.
The dominant political dynamic for Israelis is self-preservation, all values will ultimately be sacrificed for this (hence why they haven't kicked BN out long ago). I suspect the fact they are so well politically educated but are forced to "vote for the bully who will protect them" causes serious neurosis inside their political consciousness.
Americans are at the exact opposite end of that spectrum: they live 0-threat lives at least from external sources post cold-war. So they have the luxury of voting according to petty likes & dislikes ie personality.
Yep. That, too. But this time, the voters who are voting on POLICY (half the country) are very motivated. VERY. Because they see the issues clearly and it goes beyond the border, the economy and crime. They are also alarmed at the transgender theory being taught in schools, the Neo-racism coming from the left, the awful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies, public schools being the worst they've ever been, and so on.
Americans have been seduced by politicians' looks and personalities FOREVER. It's deeply ingrained in their culture. Let's hope this time around, Democrats can push past their desire to elect a feckless black woman (but a good-looking one, let's be honest) in favor of a feisty, sometimes trash-mouthed Trump who's deeds show competence and love of country.
The Israeli electoral system is actually a very problematic one, guaranteed to never result in an absolute majority. Take a look at the Australian system of compulsory, preferential voting which still enables expression of policy preference but is far more likely to generate workable outcome
Love the article Josh but you neglected to mention something. With Israel having too many parties there is rarely a majority government, therefore favours are dispersed to lure a party into the coalition. Once there is no majority the cobbling together of a government is crazy
That is one way to look at it. The other way is that with more parties, more of the Israeli populace is represented. That comes with good and bad, so to speak.
National politics in the US has been captured by the elites. The republic as we knew it 30 years ago is no more. The republican “party” has demonstrated it is all talk. Most of it lies. There is a possibility that Trump, with divine assistance, could disenfranchise the elites and senior officials in the bureaucracy, but they likely will kill him before they let that happen. The republican establishment is, at best, an obstruction to what is in the best interest of the country. The democrats and their establishment are the strength and implementers of the globalists and sexual and moral perverts.
I don’t see any realistic choice for Americans. T’would be nice if there were the choices here that you describe in Israel.
The Israeli political system is a mess, and most Israelis will agree. Their system encourages radical small and religious parties to hijack the coalition that they are in, only because they are needed to form a coalition. This is what's happening now. That why Gvir can have influence because all he has to say is that I will leave the coalition, and then bring it down. If anything, they have to raise the threshold to become a party so there won't be so many small parties.
Also, Israelis also vote for the personalities of the head of the party. Netanyahu is a good example. He has a cult following, but is hated by many Israelis, mostly on the center and left. Gantz and Lapid would have formed a coalition with Likud, if it wasn't for Netanyahu.
You are correct in your assessment of how Americans vote for personality mostly and not policy, and how the administration appoints so many civil servants, which brings up a point. If Trump wins, he will fire anyone who doesn't pledge his loyalty. So there will only yes people, and they will not be experienced or competent people. Putting that aside, I'll take our system over the Israelis any day, but we need to get rid of the electoral college system.
"First, the president’s need to control the policymaking apparatus means that presidents will often prefer higher numbers of appointees in agencies that do not naturally share the president’s views about policy."
Why would any agency naturally not support Israel? We are allies. How does an agency evolve to be in contrast to American policy.
Can someone explain this for me?
thanks, love the article. And yes, there are way too many parties in Israel which leads to marriages that dont support the view of majority of Israelis eg Haradim not in army. papa j
Having seen the Israeli political system up close (since following the Gaza ordeal) I suspect it may have the worst possible combination of traits. A unicameral parliament with zero electoral threshold which allows microparties to play spoiler and blackmailer roles, with a directly elected PM on top (oy vey!).
All these clearly contribute precisely to the dynamics outlined by the author.
I don't think focusing on actual policy actually makes any difference, mostly because there are no longer any real substantive policy differences between "left" and "right". Since the globalist economic consensus there is no longer a social democratic centre-left. All Western nations have effectively the same open border mass immigration (cheap labour + housing speculation) economic dynamics. In other words all parties screw the working class. Hence culture war issues predominate politics.
This is a gross oversimplification/generalization. And there is an electoral threshold. It was 3.25% in the last elections, which I noted in this essay, if you read it.
No one whose job was dependent on Malley’s approval should have a security clearance
Excellent comparative analysis of the US and Israeli political party systems. I learned something!
Excellent obituary of American democracy, indeed.
It's true, the American people vote for personality (though only half of them). The biggest reason is ignorance on the issues and no interest in pursuing enlightenment. The Israelis probably have a much much higher of percentage of people who truly educate themselves on the policies and issues. Too many Americans now can barely read and the younger generations admit they get most of their news and info from the cesspool called Tik Tok (that is not a joke. That IS their news source). And they vote, too. Add to that a mostly corrupt news media that clearly works for one political party and completely lies about the other, and you have a hot mess here.
The dominant political dynamic for Israelis is self-preservation, all values will ultimately be sacrificed for this (hence why they haven't kicked BN out long ago). I suspect the fact they are so well politically educated but are forced to "vote for the bully who will protect them" causes serious neurosis inside their political consciousness.
Americans are at the exact opposite end of that spectrum: they live 0-threat lives at least from external sources post cold-war. So they have the luxury of voting according to petty likes & dislikes ie personality.
Yep. That, too. But this time, the voters who are voting on POLICY (half the country) are very motivated. VERY. Because they see the issues clearly and it goes beyond the border, the economy and crime. They are also alarmed at the transgender theory being taught in schools, the Neo-racism coming from the left, the awful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies, public schools being the worst they've ever been, and so on.
Have you. heard that DEI. is expanding its umbrella to become The Big Tent.
More than ever, it has now become :
D iversity
I nclusion
A gency
R epresentation
E quity
A uthenticity
Excellent article…so good and great research on Malley, placed by the cabal to work against both USA and Israel. Thank you.
Americans have been seduced by politicians' looks and personalities FOREVER. It's deeply ingrained in their culture. Let's hope this time around, Democrats can push past their desire to elect a feckless black woman (but a good-looking one, let's be honest) in favor of a feisty, sometimes trash-mouthed Trump who's deeds show competence and love of country.
I do focus on the party's and candidate's policies. Kamala Harris and the current makeup of the democrat party are marxists and islamists.
Tabatabai did exactly what the Harris regime wanted her to do as she has since been promoted rather than fired and charged with treason.
The Israeli electoral system is actually a very problematic one, guaranteed to never result in an absolute majority. Take a look at the Australian system of compulsory, preferential voting which still enables expression of policy preference but is far more likely to generate workable outcome
Just perfect and bullseye as usual! Thank you Josh. Let's meet in Tel Aviv for a glass of wine or coffee.
Love the article Josh but you neglected to mention something. With Israel having too many parties there is rarely a majority government, therefore favours are dispersed to lure a party into the coalition. Once there is no majority the cobbling together of a government is crazy
That is one way to look at it. The other way is that with more parties, more of the Israeli populace is represented. That comes with good and bad, so to speak.
National politics in the US has been captured by the elites. The republic as we knew it 30 years ago is no more. The republican “party” has demonstrated it is all talk. Most of it lies. There is a possibility that Trump, with divine assistance, could disenfranchise the elites and senior officials in the bureaucracy, but they likely will kill him before they let that happen. The republican establishment is, at best, an obstruction to what is in the best interest of the country. The democrats and their establishment are the strength and implementers of the globalists and sexual and moral perverts.
I don’t see any realistic choice for Americans. T’would be nice if there were the choices here that you describe in Israel.
That is the way EVERY Democracy should function! Once again, Israel shows the way!
The Israeli political system is a mess, and most Israelis will agree. Their system encourages radical small and religious parties to hijack the coalition that they are in, only because they are needed to form a coalition. This is what's happening now. That why Gvir can have influence because all he has to say is that I will leave the coalition, and then bring it down. If anything, they have to raise the threshold to become a party so there won't be so many small parties.
Also, Israelis also vote for the personalities of the head of the party. Netanyahu is a good example. He has a cult following, but is hated by many Israelis, mostly on the center and left. Gantz and Lapid would have formed a coalition with Likud, if it wasn't for Netanyahu.
You are correct in your assessment of how Americans vote for personality mostly and not policy, and how the administration appoints so many civil servants, which brings up a point. If Trump wins, he will fire anyone who doesn't pledge his loyalty. So there will only yes people, and they will not be experienced or competent people. Putting that aside, I'll take our system over the Israelis any day, but we need to get rid of the electoral college system.
Yes the Israeli political system has problems; it is not perfect like every country. That was not the point of this essay. Silly to bring it up.
Not silly at all. You're the one touting the Israeli system as better. It might be marginally better but its still a complete mess.
Somewhat confused in the statement
"First, the president’s need to control the policymaking apparatus means that presidents will often prefer higher numbers of appointees in agencies that do not naturally share the president’s views about policy."
Why would any agency naturally not support Israel? We are allies. How does an agency evolve to be in contrast to American policy.
Can someone explain this for me?
thanks, love the article. And yes, there are way too many parties in Israel which leads to marriages that dont support the view of majority of Israelis eg Haradim not in army. papa j
Having seen the Israeli political system up close (since following the Gaza ordeal) I suspect it may have the worst possible combination of traits. A unicameral parliament with zero electoral threshold which allows microparties to play spoiler and blackmailer roles, with a directly elected PM on top (oy vey!).
All these clearly contribute precisely to the dynamics outlined by the author.
I don't think focusing on actual policy actually makes any difference, mostly because there are no longer any real substantive policy differences between "left" and "right". Since the globalist economic consensus there is no longer a social democratic centre-left. All Western nations have effectively the same open border mass immigration (cheap labour + housing speculation) economic dynamics. In other words all parties screw the working class. Hence culture war issues predominate politics.
This is a gross oversimplification/generalization. And there is an electoral threshold. It was 3.25% in the last elections, which I noted in this essay, if you read it.