Let me just state the obvious: After a week in Israel, I am no expert on the Jewish state or its politics.
That said, though, I did learn one interesting fact during my recent trip to the Middle East: Israel doesn’t have absentee voting.
What does that mean? Basically, except for deployed military personnel and diplomats, voting must be done in person. In other words, the people who actually live in Israel will determine who wins in Tuesday’s high-stakes election.
So while American Jews have lots of opinions, they’re not likely to have much of an impact on who is elected (or re-elected) prime minister.
In case you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about, here’s the opening of a recent Associated Press story:
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot for Israel’s national election, yet he’s a dominant factor for many American Jews as they assess the high stakes of Tuesday’s balloting.
At its core, the election is a judgment on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has won the post four times but now faces corruption charges. In his battle for political survival, Netanyahu has aligned closely with Trump — a troubling tactic for the roughly 75% of American Jewish voters who lean Democratic.
“The world has come to understand that Netanyahu is essentially the political twin of Donald Trump,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal pro-Israel group J Street. “Unlike his previous elections, there is a much deeper antagonism toward Netanyahu because of that close affiliation between him and Trump and the Republican Party.”