Israel's elections: the take from Newton

The Israeli elections are closely watched here in Newton, nearby communities and elsewhere around the world. We received a few emails about the results.

David S. Greenfield, responding to a Globe editorial, sent this letter to the editor which is reprinted here:

The Globe Editorial “Israel’s broken politics” (Feb 13, 2009) pans Israel’s political system describing a scenario where “the winner, Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni, is almost certain to end up the loser, while the loser, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, will likely form the next government with a mélange of partners he would rather not have.” The editorial concludes; the result for Israel will be “forces of rejectionism (that) are not representative of the popular will.”
Despite the editor’s derision of machinations of Israel’s democracy, since the state’s inception it remains a representative democracy sustaining an open, free society must continuously operate under existential threat and attack from enemies sworn to wiping it off the face of the earth. It is also the only true democracy, and our only true ally in the entire Middle East. The editors should also reconsider their view by passing it through a lens that showcases our American representative democracy, which is the greatest, most remarkable democracy of the greatest country in the world. Our enduring representative system, one that would certainly not be categorized as broken, seated a president in the Oval Office just a few years ago who cobbled together the requisite Electoral College votes but not the popular vote. And by the way, aren’t they still counting November’s votes in Minnesota to select their Senator?