21 days to the local elections - the dozens of candidates who appealed to the Minister of the Interior claim that the circumstances that led to the postponement of the elections from their original date in October have not changed, but have even worsened.
They claim that 500 candidates are still being recruited into the reserves and are essential to the IDF, which cannot release them, and that "there is an absolute certainty that tens of thousands will be absent from the democracy celebration that is intended to shape the image of the authorities for the next five years." The minister does not bend. Perhaps because there are those who believe exactly the
opposite
.
Anat Khouli, 53, is an independent candidate for the presidency of the local council in Nimina-Givat Ada, heads the "Ofek" faction whose top brass was recruited for the war effort, yet she is convinced that the local elections should be held on time in three weeks, on February 27. "Precisely At this time, when the municipal system is almost paralyzed, we must hold elections and strengthen the resilience of the home front, not holding elections will give the other side another victory that we must not allow," she says, "It is clear to me that we do not have the privilege of wallowing in loss, pain, and hardship and must continue in civilian life and to maintain a functional rear.
If we don't give all the rewards to the reservists who are still serving, it will be even more difficult for them to give what they have to give.
" He is not running for another term. Kholi, a criminal lawyer, and after 25 years of public activity, decided to run for the presidency of the council in her hometown. "There is a situation here that there is a void that clearly needs to be filled, despite the difficulties," she mentions.
Lt. (res.) Anat Khouli with No. 2 in the platoon, Lt. Col. (res.) Shanir Shoshani, (right) and No. 4, Major Nadav Tilman-Harari/courtesy of the photographs
But then came Black Sabbath.
"We woke up to a difficult morning for all the residents of Israel," she wrote that same Sunday on the faction's Facebook page, "the election headquarters is directing all its activities to help the residents of the colonies and the residents of the south, we are centralizing inquiries on all issues to help the council and the residents. May we see better days and return to normal soon."
"The campaign stopped with one mistake. All the activities of the faction turned from political to public," adds Sagne, number two in the faction and head of its headquarters, 45-year-old Shanir Shoshani.
Three of the four leaders in the faction were drafted.
Defense attorney Anat Kholi wore a uniform and as lieutenant (res.) Anat Kholi served as a reserve in the emergency room of Binyamina-Givat Ada, among other things in cooperation with the organization "Hashomer al-Havid" whose volunteers will increase the security of the settlement.
Lt. Col. (res.) Shanir Shoshani, outgoing 13th Fleet, went into reserve in the Navy on October 7 and returned only about a week ago, after 110 days.
The engineering officer Major (res.) Nadav Tilman-Harari, 37 years old, number 4 in the platoon, went to the front in the south and was sent to Gaza. Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Moshe Khouli, Anat's husband, is the commander of the Gador region of the Home Front Command, Since October 7th he is still in active reserve service and because of this he had to resign from the position assigned to him, as the election day director of the faction headed by his wife.
She admits: "There was no campaign.
The war caught us just before they were about to start the significant part of the campaign, we put everything aside, the public had no attention and we also directed our energies to other places, we were busy, and we only returned to it at the end of January.
On October 7th, I had a full schedule for the week with one house class and sometimes two scheduled for each evening. Meetings a day every minute. Without a single free moment to raise my head. That night I immediately understood that there would be no elections.
It was clear that this was an existential war for the State of Israel.
A route needs to be recalculated.
We canceled everything.
We did everything that could be done for the settlement and for the soldiers, as individuals, not even as a group.
We even called our people to direct their energies and abilities there.
In guarding, in agriculture, in a sewing room for soldiers, in cleaning shelters, in training public shelters and home visits to the elderly who do not have medical facilities."
"For us as candidates it is of course very difficult. There is also no attention, everyone is also busy with personal matters, in reality," adds Kholi.
Shoshani adds another reason for the need to hold the elections this month, at a time that appears to be a kind of respite.
"In the end, it's only a matter of time until this matter will probably be opened again and the campaign will intensify again, and if we delay now with the elections, we will be crippled for a sin later."
Major (res.) Tsila Rashef, running for the presidency of the Zichron Ya'akov local council/courtesy of the photographs
Even in the neighboring colony there are those who think so
Major (res.) Tsila Rashef, 49, is running for the presidency of the Zichron Ya'akov local council at the head of the "Zikhron Shevalev" faction.
She was recruited at the beginning of the war and was released only about two weeks ago.
She says that this is a complex issue.
"The personal interest is to postpone, but from a public perspective, the elections must be held to allow the councils to function."
According to her, "The councils are paralyzed from a budgetary point of view, and by the very fact of the period defined as an election period, there are many reservations, limits and conditions for every decision and financial expenditure. Therefore, as a candidate who returned from reserves after 3.5 months, it is very difficult to start a campaign, there is no public attention, there is no 'vibe' of a democratic celebration and in light of the complexity and difficulty We as leaders must conduct a situation-adjusted campaign, be sensitive, show leadership, show that on 7.10 we learned something, the demonstrations, the harassment and the hatred only weaken us as people, as a nation."
She concludes, "The recovery, the building of resilience and trust between the citizen and his elected officials is currently on the shoulders of the municipal leadership and that is where we must be focused."
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Zichron Yaakov