MK Yinon Magal Resigns From the Knesset

That was quick:

Jewish Home MK Yinon Magal handed in his resignation to step down from the Knesset on Monday, as the testimony of a third woman accusing him of sexual harassment was revealed.

Party chairman Naftali Bennett responded on Monday, saying, "I received Yinon's resignation announcement, this is a fitting action. I hope that the process he is in will end as quickly as possible and he will be able to devote himself to his family and to his path ahead."

I'd like to jot down a few notes about this:

1) "The God of these (the Jews) hates lewdness" (Sanhedrin 106A) - the acts attributed to Magal, some of which he admitted to, are totally unacceptable.

2) On the other hand, "Nothing can stand in the way of Teshuvah "(Laws of Teshuvah 3:14). Indeed, God's mercy is everlasting...the political system not so much.

3) Kudos for Magal for resigning and not "grabbing the horns of the altar".

4) It looks like Yinon Magal will be replaced by Avi Wortzman, who in my eyes proved to be a worthy representative in the previous Knesset.

5) It is interesting to note that the chain of events leading up to Yinon Magal's resignation was a post on Facebook, which gives us another example of the power of the Social Networking Sites.

The Yinon Magal Scandal

I heard about this scandal not too long after I put up a post with him giving a brilliant speech to the Knesset in Arabic.

In the meantime, Mr. Magal has stepped down as the head of the Jewish Home faction in the Knesset.

I must admit that I was upset that Naftali Bennett put Yinon Magal on the Jewish Home Knesset list. I had never heard of him, but I did know of so many other deserving people who had devoted their life to the community that were pushed down the list because of this appointment. However, his performance as an MK has been impressive. Now it looks like he has some legal trouble ahead of him in addtion to an uncertain political future.

Election Fatigue

With less than a month to go before the elections, the national religious public is divided. An example of this can be seen in two different lists of national religious rabbis: those that support the Jewish Home Party, and those that support the "Together - The Nation is With Us" party.

Traditional Shas supporters are also divided between Shas and Rabbi Mazuz's "Together - The Nation is With Us" party.

Among the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox, the "Jerusalem faction" is threatening to boycott the elections, which could cost Agudat Yisrael a seat.

There is very few signs of excitement about the upcoming elections on the street. Although there is a lot of activity on the internet, there are very few signs hanging from the balconies. It could be that people are not interested in being associated with the current divides in the community. Alternatively, it could be that people just don't have the time or strength to invest in this election, which is coming just two years after the previous one.

Quote of the Day, "I'm a Proud Homophobe"

The quote of the day was uttered by Bezalel Smotrich, number 8 on the Jewish Home list IDF Radio reports:

It is permissable for anybody to decide that he does not want to live a normal life, it is his full right. It is not his right, just because he does not feel comfortable to be abnormal, to demand from us all to undermine the concept of norm and to say there is no such thing as normal already...Every person in his home is allowed to be abnormal and to establish any kind of family unit that he wants. He cannot demand (recognition) from me as a state, and this is where it starts. He feels uncomfortable to be an exception, it is not fun."

Upon hearing these things someone in the crowd shouted, "You dark homophobe, my brother is not an animal, my friends are not animals." Smotrich replied, "I'm a proud homophobe!"

Eli Ohana Resigns From the Jewish Home Party List!

According to the Srugim web site, soccer legend Eli Ohana has resigned from the Jewish Home list. Ohana wrote to Bennett that he did not expect the controversy that his candidacy would cause.

This is good news for the Jewish Home Party, in that it shows that the rabbis and the regular rank and file still have the ability to influence what happens in the party.

I hope that Bennett learned that although he is the leader, the Jewish Home is not a one man show, and that he still has to take counsel with others before making decisions.

Jewish Home Party Primaries Results

Updated: Here are the results according to IsraelNationalNews.com (my choices are in bold):

1. Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home chairman)
2. Uri Ariel (Tekuma chairman)
3. Ayelet Shaked
4. Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan
5. Nissan Slomiansky
6. Yinon Magal
7. Uri Orbach
8. Motti Yogev
9. Bezalel Smotrich
10. Shuli Muallem-Refaeli
11. Avi Wortzman
12. Nir Orbach
13. Rabbi Avichai Rontzky
14. Orit Struk
15. Yehudit Shilat
16. Ronen Shoval
17. Avichai Boaron
18. Zevulun Kalfa
19. Moshe Salomon
20. Danny Dayan

I am happy to say that all my choices made it into the top twenty, with the top six having a realistic chance of being elected according to the polls.

It is interesting to note that in the primaries themselves, barring the elections for the party chairman, the top vote getter was Ayelet Shaked, a secular woman from Tel Aviv. Rabbi Ben-Dahan, who came in second place, could have made it into the list in one of Tekuma's reserved spots. Both candidates were rewarded by the voters for their outstanding work: Shaked in the Knessett and Ben-Dahan in the Religious Affairs Ministry.

How to Vote in the Primaries

The Jewish Home party produced a film explaining how to vote in the primaries:

Now that Tekuma has chosen it's candidates the list looks like this:

1) The Party Chariman (99.99% chance that this will be Naftali Bennett)
2) Reserved for Tekuma (Uri Ariel)
3) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
4) Reserved for a female representative
5) OPEN
6) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
7) OPEN
8) Reserved for a female representative
9) Reserved for Tekuma (Bezalel Smotrich)
10) To be chosen by members of the party's Central Committee
11) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
12) Reserved for a female representative
13) OPEN
14) I am not sure about this: either reserved for Tekuma (Orit Struk) or OPEN
15) I am not sure about this: either reserved for Tekuma (Orit Struk) or OPEN
16) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
17) Reserved for a female representative
18) Reserved for Tekuma (Zevulun Kalfa)
19) OPEN
20) OPEN

I've also revised my choices for the primaries (The top three get two points, the remainder one point):

1) Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan
2) Moti Yogev
3) Avichai Boaron

4) Avi Wortzman
5) Nissan Slomiansky
6) Rabbi Avichai Ronski
7) Moshe Salomon

My Picks For the Jewish Home Primaries

I cannot say that I know enough about all of the candidates to claim that I can really make an informed choice. With my limited knowledge, these are my choices, in the meantime.

You only get to pics seven candidates. The top three get two points, and the remaining four get one point each. Here is my list:

1) Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan
2) Moti Yogev
3) Nissan Slomiansky

4) Avi Wortzman
5) Avichai Boaron
6) Rabbi Avichai Ronski
7) Moshe Salomon

My choice for chairman is Naftali Bennett.

I have favored current Knesset members, who have already gone through the Knesset "boot camp" and know how to do the job. I have also left out some worthy candidates who are popular and are going to get elected anyway, as well as people who will receive "reserved" spots.

It will be interesting to see how many of my picks receive a realistic spot on the list.

The Jewish Home Primaries: You Get What You Pay For

The primaries will take place on the 23rd of Tevet (the 14th of January) from 3:00 PM until 10:00 PM. Some of the polling stations will be open at 10:00 AM.

How much will my vote count. Not as much as I would like, as much of the list has already been determined. This is the way the list will be formed.

1) The Party Chariman (99.99% chance that this will be Naftali Bennett)
2) Reserved for Tekuma (Uri Ariel)
3) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
4) Reserved for a female representative
5) OPEN
6) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
7) OPEN
8) Reserved for a female representative
9) Reserved for Tekuma
10) To be chosen by members of the party's Central Committee
11) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
12) Reserved for a female representative
13) OPEN
14) Reserved for Tekuma
15) Reserved for Tekuma
16) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
17) Reserved for a female representative
18) Reserved for Tekuma
19) OPEN
20) OPEN

Note: In the top 15 spots there are only three open slots. I guess you can't expect too much for 39 NIS!

Rav Eli Ben-Dahan Came to the Neighborhood

Last night I had the great pleasure of hearing the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, speak. A whole lot of people crowded into the livingroom of one of my neighbors to hear the rabbi speak. He had plenty to say, explaining his accomplishments as the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs and the accomplishments of the Jewish Home Party in general. He is definitely going to be one of the people that I will vote for in the primaries.

In an unrelated development, the other day I was in Aminadav, a moshav located west of Jerusalem. The place has a wonderful view of the Judean hills. Click on the pics for an enlargement:

I Joined "The Jewish Home Party"

For the first time in a long, long time, I'm a member of a political party. Along with 20,000 others, I coughed up the membership fee (something like 39 NIS) and signed up. The reason for doing so is to try strengthen the religious character of the party. As much as I admire the work of the Jewish Home's secular MK, Ayelet Shaked, and in my opinion she has done a spectacular job, I don't want the successor of the National Religious Party to turn into an immitation of the Likud.