February 6, 2009 – 2:43 pm
My third piece for the Guardian newsblog is about bloggers who don’t like to write about politics. It starts like this:
One of Israel’s most famous bloggers never writes about politics. “It bores me,” explains Liat Bar-On, a 36-year-old journalist. “I consider myself a leftist and I was against the Gaza war, but I don’t want to write about the violence and the corruption and the crappy reality around me. I prefer to bury my head in the sand and ignore it all.”
Bar-On’s blog, Doda Malka (Auntie Malka), is about “life and relationships – that is, about my relationships.” She channels her considerable writing talents into musings about topics that range from why she gets irritated with friends who send long text messages to her mobile phone, to whether or not she would like to become a single mother via artificial insemination.
Click here to read the rest.
February 3, 2009 – 5:58 pm
I’m writing a series of articles for the Guardian’s newsblog about Israeli political bloggers and what they’re saying about the upcoming national elections. Each post will cover a different demographic / political orientation. The first one, If bloggers were representative of the mainstream, was published today. The article starts like this:
Assuming the polls are accurate – and they have been quite consistent – Israeli voters are poised to elect a rightwing government in next week’s elections. But if bloggers were representative of the mainstream, Israel’s next government would probably be a Jewish-Arab coalition of socialists, social democrats and environmentalists.
Click here to read the rest.
January 25, 2009 – 11:47 am
Kadima (forward)! The United Workers' Party (Mandate-era Socialist party)
Via Bert, I bring you Israel Election Compass. To find out what party best represents you, click here and take the test. Brought to you by a Dutch Christian broadcasting company and newspaper, the Israel Democracy Institute, Ynet, the Dutch website Kieskompas and a Dutch university cooperate.
I took the test, but I won’t share my results until at least 10 readers describe theirs in the comments section. Think of it as a political version of “you show me yours and I’ll show you mine.” Ha!
UPDATE: Okay, the Sandmonkey makes 10. Here are my results:
83% Meretz
82% Hadash
82% Ra’am-Tal
72% Balad
I did vote Meretz in the last elections, but given their shameful position on the Gaza operation, I am not sure that I’ll cast my ballot for them this time. This is a problem, because the options are even less attractive (I wouldn’t vote for any of the other parties that ostensibly represent my views). So… What to do? Not sure yet. Welcome to the Israeli leadership vacuum.
