For this discussion, Jonathan Feldstein asked each of us to give the ideology* of the various political parties in Israel of those which are mostly in the Knesset at present, plus a couple of realistic hopefuls. A reason for this is that many listeners to our panel don't live in Israel and have minimal knowledge, at best, about the multitude of political parties here. To be honest, many Israelis are only familiar with their favorites and at best their most hated.
In Israel one can't be 100% sure of which parties will be competing until close to the deadline for applying.
Here's our discussion, and yes, I call it a discussion, not a debate.
As in the first of our discussion (here's the link,) lots of interesting points are brought up. We aren't a "bunch of friends." I doubt that one person in the group actually knows everyone else personally, and that includes Jonathan Feldstein. That makes our conversations even more interesting.
There's a transcription on the screen, so you can follow by reading, not just listening.
I'd love to hear your opinion and feelings and questions about our discussion. Thanks for taking the time.
*I must admit that I didn't quite follow his instructions, because I see the political parties as products of their leaders and history. In addition many do not have actual policies that match their names and/or stated political ideologies. I've been following Israeli politics since making aliyah in 1970. For instance despite the fact that the Likud markets themselves as Israeli Right, their actual policies aren't, and I'll never forget Bibi Netanyahu's speech at the 2008 International Jewish Blogger's Convention. I blogged about it calling the post "Impressive." He pledged to rule as a Centrist, and that's a good description of what he has been doing since returning to office of Prime Minister. For me facts on the ground, the bottom line are more important than how one markets oneself.
