OTHER VIEWS

From Sderot To America

Washington, D.0

A

s an American, I implore my
fellow citizens to stop what they
are doing. Stop cooking. Stop
working. Stop driving. Just stop! Stop and
count out 15 seconds and feel how long
those brief moments in time truly are.
Don't just do it once. Do it several times
and see if within those 15 seconds you can
find safe shelter — a basement, table, bus-
stop or secure store. Sounds simple? In
Israel, life is certainly never simple.
As you count to 15, think about the
responsibilities you have in your life, to
children, your spouse, friends, family and
even to your pets. Imagine hearing the
rocking blare of a siren knowing you have
only 15 short seconds to take lifesaving
cover. All of your loved ones, their future,
your business ... all of your responsibili-
ties flashing before your eyes while you
have to find the strength of self-preserva-
tion to seek immediate shelter. Where is
your wife? Your husband? Your children?
Your frail parents? Imagine tucking your
children into bed with the constant worry
whether they will have time to reach a
safe place when the rockets land again. Or
rushing through your bath or shower so
you have time to secure your family before

fear of going to the bathroom,
the unthinkable happens ... with
of going to school, of sleeping
only 15 seconds of notice.
in a room without their par-
Imagine all of the things
ents, of playing outside. What
we take for granted that could
kind of world is this? Sadly, it's
affect your ability to save your-
a world that now over 250,000
self or your loved ones. What if
Israeli citizens are living in.
your iPod is too loud to hear the
In 2008 alone, there were over
siren or if you are not feeling
3,200 Hamas-launched rockets
well and take sleep medica-
that landed in Israel, rockets
tion and are too drowsy to get
that have continued to reach
to a safe place. What if you are
Joshua A.
farther and farther into Israeli
driving on a road and need to
Kaplan
territory, now reaching Israel's
constantly be mindful of being
Special
largest port city, Ashkelon.
15 seconds from a bomb shelter
Commentary
Now you know what 15
as you look toward the skies in
seconds feels like in the lives
fear of the rain of rocket fire
of many Israelis. Don't just think about
that threatens at every moment.
it once; think about it 10 times a day, or
Imagine the mother sitting at home
more. Try to imagine life for the citizens
while her children are at school — pray-
of Sderot and than ask the question, if
Mg that her 6-year-old child on the play-
ground doesn't stray an extra 10 feet away this happened in the U.S., what would my
from a shelter that can mean life while liv- government do to protect me? Since the
latest Israeli offensive into Gaza, Operation
ing in the face of death. Or the stress and
Cast Lead, Israel has been attacked with
fear of a school teacher who not only has
anti-Semitic rhetoric from around the
the responsibility to teach her students,
world for what, in essence, is their right
but also to protect 25 young children and
— to protect their citizens. I guarantee
herself as she rushes them to safety.
that a U.S. response to such barbarous and
When you think about these paralyzing
unprovoked attacks would be no different,
scenarios, those 15-second increments
if not even stronger and more swift than
have become a 24 hour job for Israeli citi-
Israel's.
zens. Children are growing up in constant

I understand the opposition. Many
will ask, "What about the mother in Gaza
trying to protect her family from Israeli
planes, and the Palestinian child afraid to
go to school?" But this question reaches
deep into the main irony of the situation:
If an Israeli mother did not have to live
her life in 15-second increments to pro-
tect her children, then neither would the
mother in Gaza. In the end, both Israeli
and Palestinian mothers have a lot in
common. For both, they live their lives in
small increments of frozen time trying to
protect their loved ones who, in the end,
are both plagued by the same problem
— Hamas.

Joshua Kaplan grew up in West Bloomfield

and recently graduated from Michigan State

University's James Madison College with a

bachelor's degree in international relations

and in political theory and constitutional

democracy along with a specialization in

Jewish studies. He now is a research associate

for the Center for Terrorism Research at the

Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is

a Legacy Heritage Fellow, a competitive fel-
lowship that cultivates young leaders in North

America, Europe and Israel. At MSU, he was

active in the pro-Israel movement.

Israel's Flawed System

Los Angeles/JTA

T

he predicament created by
Israel's recent Knesset elec-
tions does not reveal any new
problems in Israel's electoral system; it
simply underscores the problems everyone
knows already are there.
The problems have created a dire situ-
ation. Clearly, the Israeli electoral system
has failed again; the underlying problems
of why it happened need to be addressed
immediately.
The new political map shows the
immense difficulty in establishing a coali-
tion government, especially one that will be
able to lead the country through these chal-
lenging times. Even worse, the Knesset rep-
resents so many fragmented groups that it
is extremely difficult to legislate effectively.
Politicians on the campaign trail often
promise electoral reform, but those prom-
ises have gone unfulfilled.
If the current Knesset does not make

C6

March 19 2009

The idea is that if 50 percent of
government and electoral
Knesset members are elected
reform a top national prior-
in regional elections, there
ity, a shaky coalition will push
will be a stronger tie between
Israelis into yet another election
representatives and voters, and
in less than two or three years
the Knesset members will be
and, again, it will be impossible
directly accountable to their
to establish a stable govern-
constituents.
ment.
Some Israeli officials have
Various solutions to Israel's
proposed
transitioning to a
problems of government insta-
presidential
system. Politicians
Izak Parviz
bility already have been pro-
and
scholars,
however, are
Nazarian
posed.
deterred
by
the
risk of concen-
Special
In 2005, the president's
trating
too
much
power in the
Commentary
Commission for the
hands
of
a
single
person.
Examination of the Structure
Increasing
the
threshold
necessary
for
of Governance in Israel was created to
Knesset
representation
to
5
percent
of
the
propose recommendations to remedy
popular
vote
is
a
middle-of-road
reform
the problem. The commission, headed by
that would reduce the number of smaller
Professor Menachem Magidor of Hebrew
parties in the Knesset and thus promote
University, spent 15 months researching
and strengthen bigger parties. Another
alternatives to Israel's current system.
worthwhile
reform would be creating a
In its final report, the commission rec-
perennial
budget
to eliminate the "circus
ommended that regional elections be held
of
extortion"
that
plagues Israeli coalition
to elect half of the Knesset's members.

negotiations.
During a meeting with the members
of the Economic Forum for Government
Stability of the Citizens' Empowerment
Center in Israel, Kadima Party
Chairwoman Tzipi Livni said that she does
not reject the transition to a presidential
system. However, she cautioned that Israel
would need to make sure the appropriate
checks and balances were in place and
that there would be the possibility of forc-
ing the president to step down, in extreme
situations, before the conclusion of his or
her four-year term.
Whatever solutions are implemented,
Israel needs to reform the electoral system
and stabilize the government as soon as
possible. The only way to do this is for the
larger parties to agree to work together in
creating new legislation to secure govern-
ment stability

Izak Parviz Nazarian is founder of the Citizens'

Empowerment Center in Israel.