Ehud Olmert, NBA Ref
Our Aliyah Chronicle, Part 88
By Shmuel Katz

have been asked several times why I avoid writing about current Israeli political issues. After all, politics is such a major part of Israeli society, and what happens in the political arena has a huge impact on our day-to-day lives. A backroom deal here or there and voilà—our child-support payments go up (every family gets paid for having children in the household until the kids turn 18). A coalition-building deal may bring thousands of shekels toward after-school programming one day and cancel the program a few weeks later. There are demonstrations and counter-demonstrations galore, and trying to publicize political corruption seems to be a major part of the jobs of the police and attorney general.

In truth, part of the reason I don’t write much about politics is the fact that I still don’t really understand the system here too well. I have no idea how to register to vote, or how the political primaries (if they even exist) operate for the various parties. I am sure that Nefesh B’Nefesh will eventually (at a date closer to the actual elections) issue a primer to all the new immigrants on what/how/when/where, but until then I remain clueless.

I researched how to form a political party and register it in the elections for the Knesset. It is not so hard to do; all it really takes is a bit of money and 100 people to join the party. I have a name for the party—Olim Chadashim (new immigrants), and I believe that the agenda of making Israel more user-friendly (less bureaucratic) as well as a little more responsive to the needs of immigrants after they arrive, rather than merely recruiting them heavily, would be an interesting approach and attractive to foreign-born citizens.

According to the information I found online, it appears that about 72,000 votes is enough to win the minimum of three seats that the smallest parties in the Knesset are awarded. Nefesh B’Nefesh just brought its 15,000th immigrant to Israel last week, and considering the number of olim who have come from various corners of the world, it would not be unheard of (even though it is extremely unlikely) for something like that to happen. At the very least, it would be a wonderful civics experience and an incredible chance to bring the Israeli election process to life for the thousands of us who really have no clue how everything runs.

Of course, the $15,000 filing fee would be a bit of an issue, as would having to campaign and really develop a platform on all the major issues (especially considering the aforementioned lack of clear understanding of how everything really works). However, if anyone is really interested in helping to solve the first hurdle (in a legal manner—I would prefer not being investigated for corruption), I am willing to give it a go and work on the other issues.

I am also somewhat confused about what happens when people who spend their entire lives saying things like “We will never give away land” or “Jerusalem undivided” seem to suddenly change their minds when they are sitting in the seats of power. It is almost as if once they become the leader of the country they are given certain information that none of us have and that leads them to change their minds. I have no clue what it could possibly be, but the list of politicians who were elected saying “We will not negotiate with terrorists” and who end up doing just that is endless.

Another reason I don’t like commenting on politicians is that I really think they are all corrupt in one way or another. If so, the fact that one of them steals better than another is not really worthy of comment. Yet, with the latest round of corruption news (and spin), I can’t hold back.

After all, it is not often that a head of state’s position is threatened because he followed the lead of a few NBA referees (no, not the one who gambled). For those of you who aren’t up to speed on this, several NBA referees downgraded their first-class tickets to coach, pocketed the price difference, and failed to report the money as income on their tax returns. At least one of them was convicted and served house arrest.

The similarities are striking. The politician is always claiming that the legislators beneath him play in a foul manner, lying about him and his policies and using the media for personal gain. The job of an NBA ref is to call fouls and try to keep players in line.

The politician constantly flip-flops on the issues and basically says whatever his current audience wants to hear. NBA refs? Well, there must be a reason the common belief is that the home team seems to get the benefit of the doubt from them.

Of course, when the NBA ref makes a mistake at his job, the worst thing that happens is not very significant overall. A politician can make a mistake that costs lives and endangers a nation. So I think I am less comfortable knowing that the politician is willing to stick it to the people where personal gain is concerned than I am about an NBA official cheating on his taxes.

I am obviously engaging in a little bit of absurdity in suggesting that the two are comparable. If an NBA official cheats in one area, the concern is that he will cheat in others. That might not be a concern for the politician. There might even be an argument to be made that we need smart and crafty people to serve as our leaders so that they can use their “less than honest” talents for the benefit of our country.

Then again, some of those NBA officials are now out of jobs—so perhaps there is a correlation to be made here after all.


Shmuel Katz is the director of Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi in the Katamon neighborhood in Jerusalem. Shmuel, his wife Goldie, and their six children made aliyah in July of 2006. Prior to his aliyah, Shmuel was the executive director of the Yeshiva of South Shore in Hewlett. You can contact him at [email protected].