Saturday, February 7, 2009

To vote, or not to vote?

I have talked a lot recently about the Arab Israeli community. Al Jazeera recently reported on the debate among Israeli Arabs on whether to vote or boycott the election. I already talked about the same topic here. To me, it seems silly. It seems like they are digging themselves a bigger hole, a hole which the ultra-nationalist parties (such as Israel Beiteinu) are happy they are digging. Never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity (Abba Eban). In the end of the Al Jazeera video, the reporter said this:
Back in the 1950's, 90% of Palestinian Israelis voted in elections. By 2003, this figure dropped to 63%. By 2006, it dropped even further to 52%.

He also said that this year it is projected that less than 50% of Israeli Arabs will vote.

Those advocating for Arab boycott of the elections reason that voting in this election is a recognition of the "Zionist entity." The vast majority of them already voted in this "entity" right after its creation so that can't be it. What could it be? It seems that the less they vote, the worse their situation gets. Just like the more anti-Jew the Palestinians get in their history, from the early 20th century till today, the worse their situation gets.

Perhaps this is a similar strategy to how Arab leaders utilized Palestinian misfortunes to do their bidding - fight against Israel. I think it is.

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