Pitching for the List

As a party activist for YISRAEL BEYTENU, I attempted to drum up support for the party in the English speaking community in Israel. During some private conversations a couple of people mentioned that they would be more inclined to vote for a party representing Olim (immigrants) if there was a North American immigrant on the party's list of Knesset candidates. One friend even volunteered to help with an Anglo-focussed media campaign. I conveyed these ideas to the party managers.

As a short aside, I will explain how party lists work. Each political party in Israel creates a numbered list of candidates. On election day, voters vote for a political party. If that party receives 15 Knesset seats (meaning one-eighth of the votes), the first 15 candidates on the party list are elected to Knesset. Some parties create their lists through general primaries or primaries among central party members. In YISRAEL BEYTENU the candidates are screened by political consultants and then numbered by a vote in the party's central committee.

I was invited to meet today with the party's political consultant. We talked about the ability to campaign for the Anglo vote and the need to have the voters' interests properly represented. In the coming days I will find out if the party wants me to run for a knesset seat and at which position. Stay tuned.....