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Jerusalem, so low By Yossi Sarid Tags: Israel news  Yes, I have a sister, to refer to an old joke I won't tell here. She is in charge of the Behavior Department in our family, and as part of her job she scolds me occasionally, for her own good reasons. Whereas I am in charge of political advice. My sister, a retired teacher, lives in Jerusalem, and this week she phoned me: I've been left without a candidate, she said; and in her typical cultured language she added: I am being forced to choose between a plague and a contamination even if what's contaminated is being presented as strictly kosher. I don't want a single one of these three. Look whom they've left us with, she complained bitterly. When she said "they," I understood exactly who she meant. Everyone understands. She was referring to the big parties: Likud, Kadima, Labor, who at every festive opportunity extol Jerusalem, and at the first chance ditch it: They don't have a single candidate in their inventory who is worthy of it, who is available for the job. They swear allegiance to the eternal city, until eternity their right hand will not be forgotten and their tongue will not cleave to their palate. They will go on jabbering about Jerusalem as "the heart of the Jewish people," while this selfsame heart, terrified, has been turned over to the care of apprentices and charlatans. Advertisement If Heavenly Jerusalem is so low, then let Arcadi Gaydamak be elected already, and the city will look like him, without masks and with a wig; let him stand up and become its leader. The Labor Party, as usual, outdoes everybody when it comes to betrayal. It joined up with Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu, and together they are running a candidate whose only advantage is that he's bareheaded, i.e., secular. This week Nir Barkat decided to announce his support for building a Jewish neighborhood next to Anata, in the heart of a Palestinian population. Jerusalem is burning, and the candidate is determined to add twigs to the bonfire. Labor has not yet announced it is divorcing him, but my sister wants a divorce, immediately. So what do we do now, she asks. Hadassah, I replied, there are dilemmas in life that cannot be solved, that should not be solved, and you are not to blame. It's hard for you. For 40 years you explained to your students that voting is a civic duty. But this time you are permitted to stay home, as far as I'm concerned, and it's all right. The leading parties have given you the finger, and that is the same finger that you have a right to point at them. There are circumstances in which it is preferable to abstain rather than to participate, and when abstaining is actually more responsible and more ethical. When the Jerusalem of Meir Porush or Gaydamak or Barkat burns, yours will not have been the hand that poured on the oil. Let them do as they wish, let them go crazy like a bull in city of china, but not in your name. Deeds that should not be done are 10 times more offensive when they are done in our name. If you still insist on making the effort to go to the polls, then I recommend voting for Dan Biron, a genuine Jerusalemite, and you won't vomit out of nausea when you return home. At least there will be someone there, on the city council, to shout "Fire!" And who knows, perhaps they will get your hint after all: Soon, in the Knesset elections, we will once again weigh whether to participate or to abstain, according to the differences between the parties. Will we detect the small difference, for a change? Bookmark to del.icio.us   No light at the end Amira Hass / Powerless in Gaza, residents rely on the tunnels. Offensive strikes Report: U.S. secretly attacked dozens of Mideast targets since 2004.   1.   How could one not vote for Barkat, with Haaretz` "recommendation? 19:55  |  Yaakov K. 01/11/08   2.   Don`t bother to vote in Jerusalem 23:45  |  Dr. Nechama Ben-Elia 01/11/08   3.   Meretz?! 06:32  |  KJS 11/11/08   4.   Turnout 14:22  |  Daniel 11/11/08

Read & React Aluf Benn: No leader before Olmert explicitly urged return to '67 borders Responses: 74 Nehemia Shtrasler: We shouldn't copy Obama, he should copy us Responses: 13 Report: Hamas says its officials met Obama aides before U.S. election Responses: 53 Moshe Arens: History may judge Bush, Iraq war, very differently Responses: 24 Israel renews fuel deliveries to Gaza, after week-long halt Responses: 36 U.S. Jews to Mormons: Stop baptizing Holocaust victims Responses: 67 More Headlines 11:13 Report: Hamas says its officials met Obama aides before U.S. election 13:48 Tight mayoral races in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem galvanize voters 10:09 Livni distances herself from Olmert comments on '67 borders 01:46 ANALYSIS / No leader before Olmert has explicitly called for return to '67 borders 14:45 UN: Gaza food aid to halt if Israel keeps crossings closed 08:28 Obama, and the first Arab prime minister of Israel 11:54 Sweden court: Civil servant unlawfully demoted for pro-Israel views 14:47 Saudi King to meet U.S. Jewish leaders at interfaith summit 12:57 Thousands of Palestinians rally in West Bank to mark Arafat's death 23:18 U.S. Jewish group to Mormons: Stop baptizing Holocaust victims 01:47 Experts: 'Water lettuce' chokes Lake Agmon, threatens Kinneret 01:48 Foreign troops could deploy in West Bank after peace deal 05:50 How wealth passes from the many to the few 06:36 Women in politics - Between the glass ceiling and the mud floor 00:42 Report: IAEA finds traces of uranium at suspected Syrian nuclear site Previous Editions Select Day 10 nov 09 nov 07 nov 06 nov 05 nov 04 nov 03 nov 02 nov 31 oct 30 oct 29 oct 28 oct

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