Red or Blue

Warning: I'm about to use this blog as a bit of a soapbox. Feel free not to read it, I'm just going to share some things I've noticed while experiencing the election from here in Israel and some comparisons with the Israeli election that is supposed to be in January or so. You have been warned.

Depending on who you ask, this question could mean a lot of different things. Just a few weeks ago in Cyprus (don't worry, blog about that coming soon, I've been slacking a lot) I asked someone who was from Liverpool if they were red or blue, implying that they were either a Liverpool or Everton fan. But now, in the last few weeks, if you asked anyone in the US if they were red or blue, you'd get into this intense political debate. Oh wait, who am I kidding, in the US you can't really ask that question, people will get pretty offended. But in Israel, land of the direct questions and lack of subtlety, I have been asked several times who I am voting for (well, who I voted for) and have received some interesting responses. I am not the type of person who tries to hide my political affiliation. Yes, I don't wear it on my sleeve, or my Facebook page like many people I know, but if someone asks me what I believe or who I support, I'll answer them honestly. I'm proud to say that I did my part to re-elect President Obama but when I've said that in Israel I've gotten one of two responses, the more common being "how can you vote for Obama? He hates Israel!" A friend of mine even got the "you can't be Jewish if you're voting for Obama" since he supposedly hates Israel.

Now I consider myself somewhat educated on the US-Israel relationship (thanks AIPAC) and something that I have learned in the last year or so, is that despite what seems like reluctance to support Israel, many of Obama's policies have actually been tremendous for Israel. His foreign policy has been instrumental in building more Iron Dome locations within Israel, keeping it so much safer from the Gaza rockets, and joint military exercises have benefitted both Israeli and American soldiers. Israel receives the bulk of our foreign aid, and there is so much collaboration between the two nations. Perhaps Obama and Bibi differ in their opinions on how to deal with Iran and the Arab Spring's consequences, but that does not mean that the United States will not support Israel if the time comes.

Since the election is basically over (I refuse to say that it's official until all votes are tallied and we have confirmation from basically everyone and the Electoral College), I can finally say how lucky I feel to not be in the US during election season. Of course it would have been nice watching debates when they were actually live instead of finding a high quality version in the next few days online, and I definitely would have appreciated not having to wake up at 6AM in order to watch the election results, BUT I do not miss the frenzy and extremism that comes from election season. I like that I'm able to watch TV (when I manage to find a tv to watch which is not often) I am not bombarded by political ads. I have enjoyed walking down the street and now seeing hundreds or even thousands of lawn signs and bumper stickers with the names of various candidates or initiatives. I like how I have not had a single phone call or person knocking on my door telling me to vote or asking me to contribute to a political campaign.

And the greatest thing is, even though Israel is about to have their elections (well, supposed to) coming up this January, I still won't be in an environment that is full of election frenzy. Israel does not allow political ads on TV, they don't have lawn signs or bumper stickers, no one canvases communities to get out the vote. Now of course, the Israeli political system is a lot more complex than the fairly bipolar 2 party system in the US, but they also do not have an extremely agressive electoral system despite being extremely agressive people just in general. I'm pretty excited to see the Israeli electoral process unfold, even though I don't really understand most of it, but what better time to learn the nuances of Israeli politics, than while I am in Israel during election "season"!