The issue of local elections in the shadow of the war, postponing them to a reasonable date and holding them fairly while giving equal opportunity to vote and be elected even to those who are currently fighting for the state was supposed to be a simple issue.
Common sense dictates that due to the data, and the reality in which Israeli citizens and soldiers live, going to the polls will be postponed in a way that will allow free participation and solidarity with those for whom a municipal campaign is not the most accessible thing at the moment.
But in Israel, as in Israel, sometimes the mind is reset and in its place the sickness is pulled out.
Originally the elections were supposed to be held on the last day of October. After an initial postponement, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, backed by Knesset approval, announced a new date: January 30. Residents of 100 communities in 14 municipalities who were evicted from their homes in the north and south were excluded from the decision, and a new and separate date will be set for them after the government decides that they will be allowed to return to their homes.
It seems that there is no area in which the decision is not flawed, and that there is no social or constitutional landmine that has not been stepped on. The obvious is the harm to soldiers and fighters who sacrifice their lives. They have candidates for different levels of the municipal system, and there is no way they can run a proper campaign. To these should be added team members and campaign workers who are on active duty.
Hundreds of candidates appealed to the interior minister, some of them fighting to demand that the elections not be held on time. But not only elected officials, but also voters, are hurt by the new election date.
The basic logic for insisting on holding elections concerns the problematic nature of postponing elections in a democratic system, leaving elected officials in place without being elected. But against this weighty argument stands the right to vote and be elected, which is also at the basis of democracy and constitutes a basic right.
Following the protest against the decision, Minister Arbel clarified that polling stations would be stationed at bases for IDF soldiers, including Gaza. The minister also claimed that the decision came after thorough staff work on the part of the National Security Council and the Ministry of the Interior, and even clarified that the IDF's Manpower Division would release candidates who so wished to do so from military service – an option that would place them in a dilemma: Should they engage in politics, or continue to serve the state in the field?
The IDF's Manpower Division will release candidates who so desire from military service – an option that will place them in a dilemma: Should they engage in politics, or continue to serve the state in the field?
To this it should be added that not only will the elections determine the identity of mayors, but they also include lists that will have a broad impact on the councils of each municipality and on critical municipal positions, from sanitation and construction to education and welfare.
A decision to postpone the elections is unlikely to hurt anyone, nor has there been a public outcry to hold them. The decision to uphold them despite the situation would be anti-solidarity, dishonest, and above all strange and illogical.
Postponing elections is not only the easiest, but also the most moral and obvious. It's not too late to change.
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