A concerned member of the Jewish community in Oslo sent me a copy of the weekly newsletter which is distributed among members. In addition to the usual insights on the torah portion of the week, and the usual trivia such as birthdays and kiddush hosts, a most curious fact box has been included:
The information in the fact box is nothing less than stunning, and should ensure that the DMT immediately becomes the darling of pro-Palestinian organizations, all and sundry.
This is the translation:
Did you know… there are elections in Israel 22 January?In this election, around 23% livingunder Israeli rule have no right tovote. In East Jerusalem and the citiessurrounding which were annexed in 1967 livealmost 187,000 Israelis all of whohave voting rights while 255,000Palestinians do not have the opportunity tovoice in elections to the knesset. That figure isnearly 2 million in the West Bank.Within the Green Line 5.5million Israelis and 1.4 millionPalestinians are elegible to vote.(All figures in the demographics are fromthe Central Bureau of Statistics in Israel and the CIAFact Book)
Beyond the fact that this is a most curious piece to include in a shabbat newsletter, it appears to be not entirely accurate. Like most other countries, Israel does not allow non-citizens to vote, be it an oleh chadash who for various reasons does not take Israeli citizenship, or anybody else who lives there on a permanent basis but does not acquire citizenship. That might explain the inflated number of residents without voting rights.
Far more interesting – what is the purpose of this information? Who stands to gain on it, and where?
