I Voted in Municipal Elections

photo by one of the election staff

I went down to the polling station which is in the Ohel Shiloh Banim, local boys school very early to get "training," since I had volunteered to be an "observer." Well, there was no training, so I just voted early. And I highly doubt that I'll return to "observe." There will be enough "observers" without me, Gd willing.

Even though I have written/blogged quite a bit about my choices, I know from long experience that once people are in office, they tend to "surprise" us. Sometimes it's for good, but more frequently for bad.

Between Free Will, that major responsibility that Gd gifted us, and siyate d'Shmaya, when Gd overrules, it's not a good idea to think that we can predict much. The only thing we can really predict is that things won't go exactly as expected, and that officeholders rarely do what they promised when campaigning. 

When confronting choices, like I had in the "booth" behind the screen, sometimes we change our mind. You may have noticed that I only blogged about two of the choices we had to make, two of the issues. I wrote about head of the region, sort of the governor. And I wrote about the local council list. I wrote nothing about who should represent us in the regional "parliament." That's because I couldn't choose. One campaigned that he'd work as part of the coalition no matter who's in it, which turned me off. I'm too much an idealist. I like policies and plans. The other one just wrote all sorts of ordinary platitudes, to make everything "better." That didn't enthuse me at all. I had been thinking of an empty envelope, or two ripped half ballots. I even thought of playing a "switching game" with my eyes closed and the ballots upside down, so I wouldn't know for whom I voted. At the last second I made a choice, but since it wasn't with my full heart, I won't say who got my vote.

Gd willing, I put the best choice of ballot in each envelope.  

I consider it very important to vote, even in the case when you're not impressed by the candidates.

An important thing I want to show and tell you is that our voting station is handicapped accessible! Take a look at the picture below. Thank Gd the location is perfect. It's also near bus stops.

Gd willing, the results will be the best possible. That we will only discover in the months and years to come.

Not Afraid of Change, Vote עמ- Emek Shiloh Local Council

Rafi Fisher עמ- Emek Shiloh leader

Despite the modest plans, way back when, for Shiloh's growth and development, Shiloh and the surrounding area has been miraculously fruitful. Today there are close to one thousand 1,000 Jewish families in Shiloh and various yishuvim (towns) and hilltop from Givat Harel, just west of Highway 60, and going east until the Alon Road. This doesn't include Eli to the north, Maale Levona to the west or Amichai, which at present as a different government status.

Fertile vineyards in the area of  עמ- Emek Shiloh

For the second time, there will be elections for a "local council," which would have the authority to plan joint projects and even eventually make changes in how all of the various communities are governed. This council will consist of nine 9 members, and there are two parties competing.

I'm supporting עמ- Emek Shiloh, because its leadership sees the future of our region as a vibrant growing municipality, in which the existing communities need to join as one governing unit to the betterment of all. We shouldn't be competing, otherwise we will just end up strangling, slowing down or limiting our growth.

The outgoing council was dominated by people who wanted to preserve the status quo, keep the various communities separately governed. And those same people are hoping to continue; they are running on a competing list.

Last night, the עמ- Emek Shiloh candidates met with some of the English-speaking community in Shiloh to explain the situation and their plans.

It's time for change. We need to unite for a better future, Gd willing.

Vote עמ- Emek Shiloh!

Who Should Replace Avi Roeh as Head of Binyamin Regional Council?

There will be local elections all over Israel next week. That includes the Regional Council of Binyamin (Benjamin,) the local council of Gush Shiloh Bloc and our representative to the Binyamin Forum (parliament.) Yesterday I wrote that I'm supporting עמק שילה- ועד מקומי Emek Shiloh-Vaad Mikomi, vote עמ list for our local council,  and today I'll write about the top position.

Last night I attended a chug bayit, parlour meeting to meet, listen to and ask questions of Shiloh Adler, one of the two candidates hoping to replace Avi Roeh as head of the Binyamin Regional Council.  The meeting was very well attended, which doesn't show up well in the photos because of where I sat. Men and lots of women were there, too. Most were of the younger generation with children in school and still having babies. There were a few around my age. I was the oldest, but not the most veteran in Shiloh.

By process of elimination, I had quickly decided that I'd vote for Shiloh Adler even before hearing anything about him, but I needed to make sure I wasn't making a big mistake. The reason why I didn't want to vote for Yisrael Ganz is simply because I'm disgusted at how things are being done by the Binyamin Regional Council, and Ganz is one of the present hierarchy there.

Our public transportation is awful. Buses are unreliable, schedule problematic, routes, not enough or varied etc. A couple of years ago, the Binyamin Regional Council replaced very good wooden bus stops (shelters) that had windows  and replaced them with badly designed and constructed metal ones that neither protect us from the elements nor allow us to see an approaching bus nor let the driver see that we're waiting inside. And then right before elections, there was extra money, so they decided (like many other municipalities) to give us new sidewalks which almost cancelled our bus service. That's because the so-called planners never bothered to check government regulations for road width. They also destroyed very safe and sturdy safety rails on the staired paths and replaced them with cheap, thin rickety ones, which not only are already falling apart, but they are falling out of their sockets. While working on these "upgrades," as the Mateh Binyamin, the regional council calls them, they broke my main water pipe and damaged the garden wall. And there are other problems. So, for me, it was an easy and obvious choice not to vote for anyone connected to the present administration.

But I'm too much a political pundit and realist to blindly vote for Shiloh Adler. I had to meet him. That's why I went to the meeting last night. A few English-speaker friends had asked me to send a report about the meeting. The following is what I wrote/emailed, typos and all:

There was a nice group at the meeting, mostly young people from the middle and down the hill.
Adler came well prepared, with a staff/crew of impressive people, who also spoke.
What bothers him is that nobody ever says they're from Binyamin. After all these years, and despite the large size and population, it never has made people feel its presence. That bothers him, and he'd like to fix it.
He asked for questions. I had to reduce what I had planned to the minimum, so I mentioned public transportation and the awful roads. I stressed that we can't get to most of the Binyamin yishuvim easily, even Kochav Hashachar which is close as the crow flies. And Places like Talmon are near impossible.
I also complained that the moetza put all the offices in Psagot, which is out of the way and now in Sha'ar Binyamin. I mentioned that I consider Shiloh as having moved to Petach Tikvah and in my combination bus/tremp, I can get to Tzomet Yarkon more quickly than Jerusalem.
Adler seems to understand a lot about the financial potential, business etc.
Later he replied to my question. He has researched (his staff no doubt) the public transportation in other areas and agrees that ours is the worst.
I came up with someone who says that Ganz says many of the same things, but Ganz didn't come with a strong backup team. And although he has been with the moetza for a number of years, he never really succeeded in fixing anything and moving stuff.
I saw at least one person from the Emek Shiloh list. Moshe Batish was there, too, and he's running for the Moetza council seat. 

Before previous moetza (regional council) elections, I had gone to a number of "meet the candidate" events, and I must say that Adler's was the best presentation I've ever experienced. Not only did he take notes as we spoke, he tried to answer some of our questions after all questions had been asked, including mine. Then when he rushed off to his next meeting of the evening, his crew (cabinet) stayed to further answer our questions. I was impressed that one even buttonholed me for more information.

I have no doubt that we need new leadership in Mateh Binyamin. The only one offering that is Shiloh Adler. The icing on the cake is that he seems very competent and has surrounded himself with a good team.

Hiking Through Emek Shiloh Valley עמק שילה

Last Friday at high noon, a multigenerational group from גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc took off together under the guidance of Land of Israel, Eretz Yisrael guide extraordinaire Zeev Ehrlich. 

A treasure trove of little-known history and Biblical geography, Ehrlich told us about the unusual nature of the massive Shiloh Valley and its place in Jewish History.

Apparently today's growth of Jewish communities around Emek Shiloh Valley עמק שילה isn't new. Over the millenia, even a few hundred years ago, there were also Jewish towns surrounding the valley and  taking advantage of the fertile land for agriculture.

Zeev Ehrlich

The tour was sponsored by the עמק שילה- ועד מקומי Emek Shiloh-Vaad Mikomi, vote עמ list for the Local Council. In recent years the גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc has grown enormously in every way. It's situated between just west of Highway 60 and goes all the way eastwards to the Alon Road. There's potential for much more growth, since most of the Land is government owned. That's why the new community of Amichai, designated especially for the former Amona families/residents, is located here. 

I'm supporting this list, because I feel that it has the most vision for growth and unity. In order to maximize our potential the numerous existing communities must give up some independence and work together. This is a process that has played out all over Israel. Many of today's major and successful cities also began as small independent communities. No doubt that the גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc will remain a combination of rural and suburban, but too much money and manpower are now being wasted.

The Biblical stories centered in גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc are well-known, and it was very exciting to learn of Jewish life here during other times, even long after the Destruction of the Second Holy Temple. As you can see from the pictures, there's plenty of empty Land for Jewish Life here in גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc.

Local Shiloh Elections

Photo by Miriam Feyga Bunimovich

Last night we held our annual local Shiloh Elections for the new members of the "town council."  The Town Council aka Mazkirut has five members who each serve two year terms. There are annual elections so that two or three are elected annually, and there are the remaining two or three continuing. This way "half" of the members are new and half continue. Considering how many projects and issues they have to deal with, it is important that not all members of the Town Council are new to the "job." Also, you should know that that are all volunteers. My committee and I are volunteers, too.

Photo by Miriam Feyga Bunimovich

We need four people on the Election Committee, at least three during the voting and four during the counting. This year all of the members were experienced from previous elections, which made it so much easier.

One of my favorite things about being on the election committee is that I get to see lots of neighbors and good friends. I also have the opportunity to meet neighbors for the first time or to celebrate their first time voting. Shiloh is now a large community with hundreds of families of all ages and backgrounds. I'm now one of the old fogies, oldtimers. There are very few activities in which I can meet the youngsters, especially since most neighbors are not only younger than I am, but they don't live in my neighborhood.

Obviously I no longer have children in school, so I don't get to meet the teachers and other parents at meetings. There are also quite a few synagogues in different neighborhoods, and we no longer have periodic Shabbat classes for all the women. Anyway, even when we did, only a small percentage of the women attended.

Serving on the Election Committee is the only community activity I contribute to. I used to be involved with all sorts of committees when they were totally volunteer. Now there are paid coordinators to handle events and bringing new families and helping them. I don't volunteer to help those getting paid. But the Election Committee is a completely voluntary position. The office staff helps us, and the committee has a very short shelf life of just a few weeks each year. I am usually asked to serve on it, because I know the procedures and really enjoy it.

Gd willing, I'll be asked to be on the Election Committee next year, too.

PS I really don't care about the results, and sometimes none of the candidates I've voted for even won. That is what democracy is all about, accepting results. To me, following the laws and fair voting are most important.