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Apathy Vs Enthusiasm

The Israeli media are falling over themselves to describe how apathetic the average man/woman on the street feels about tomorrow’s election. This is despite (or perhaps as a result of) the endless onslaught of pretty party ads; the novelty of sending Multimedia Messages to mobile phones to sway punters and the incessant politicking which has taken over just about every Israeli media outlet in existence - the public are just plain bored.

I’m not Israeli. I live about 2,000 miles away from the nearest voting booth (unless you count the ones they’ve installed in the Embassy) but let me tell you, I can’t wait for tomorrow night.

Why?

Because for the first time ever, I too will be watching the election night broadcasts – not the limited, acid-laced, one-sided BBC or CNN “special features” but the real thing -  via the multitude of Israeli internet sites that have spent the last fortnight filling my inbox, begging me to click onto links that take me far beyond the British Isles.

Thanks to the magic of broadband, I can now watch live video from Rabin Square, where the locals are living it up, listening to music, schmoozing, socialising and having a pretty good time; tune into numerous radio stations and hear the endless analyses and phone-ins; witness debates (in English no less, although my Hebrew ain’t bad) featuring the pundits, politicos and semi-important personages and most importantly, see the results as they come in, district by district, party by party - all this from my l’il ole PC.

I guess it’s a question of one man’s apathy being another’s enthusiasm.

Israeli election night?
I can’t wait.

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