Lazar Berman is the diplomatic reporter for The Times of Israel
GHAJAR and BUQ’ATA – Israel likes to think of itself as a country with borders, a transparent and permanent line that delineates where the Jewish state ends and where an Arab neighbor begins.
But in many positions, the edges of Israeli-controlled territory would be more as it should be described as a border, a porous region of constant flux that is mainly, though not entirely, Israeli; A position where citizens describe themselves in the same way.
Here, on Israel’s borders, election day is a decidedly quiet affair.
In Bauq’ata, one of the 4 Druze villages in the Golan Heights, there are no symptoms of crusade hanging at intersections, and many young citizens do not know which school houses the local polling stations.
Many paintings on this national holiday, waiting for Israeli Jews to take credit for the day off to the domain and dine at local restaurants.
At one of the best schools on the western edge of the village, about a mile from the border that has isolated Buq’ata from Syria since 1967, polling stations are empty for election officials. 700 eligible voters had voted.
– Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) November 1, 2022
Niban, a resident of Majdal Shams, told The Times of Israel at the Buqata polling station that he had already voted, but declined to reveal for whom.
“There are other people who vote regularly, but this year other people don’t need to worry about politics,” he said in Hebrew. “There are many things they promise and don’t do. Now, at election time, promise things, and then nothing.
Niban said living alongside Syria and Lebanon shapes his vote: “Living here on the border, security is for us. “
“In general, most people here have a right-wing tendency,” he said, adding that there were also Meretz voters, partly because of candidate Ali Salalha, number four on the party list, from the Druze Galilee village of Beit. Jann.
Majid, 55, a security guard from Buq’ata, has not become a citizen and does not vote. “At my age, I don’t think it’s vital to me. “
Still, he said he sought to see Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu emerge victorious. “On the coronavirus, in other places, he has shown himself,” he said, adding that most of his Druze friends agree.
Salim, an IDF veteran of Daliyat al-Karmel near Haifa, said the 2018 geographic region law, which he noted sidelined Israel’s non-Jewish populations, is still on people’s minds. “The law of the geographic region made us feel very bad,” he said. said. ” Lapid, Liberman, they all promised to cancel it, but no one did anything. The law has established that there are Jews and then there are non-Jews. They put us in a basket with all the non-Jews, and that hurt us.
He added that the law affected the Druze in the Galilee more than in the Golan because they serve the country and feel Israeli.
“The Druze [in Galilee] vote like the Jews, like the Israeli Arabs,” Salim said. “You will see Druze politicians in all parties. “
“Apparently, the left is for us and the right is racist. But in practice, everyone is equal; We don’t think the parties of the left are doing anything other than the right.
Despite the external apathy of the Druze of the Golan, the currents are strengthening.
This election circular saw Israel’s first Druze leader throw his hat into the ring.
Dawn Social Power leader Wajdi Taher told The Times of Israel on Tuesday that, of all Druze politicians, he has a chance to enter the Knesset in this election.
“If the other parties had a good reputation with you, they would have put you in the top ten most sensible,” Taher said, referring to Druze politicians who occupy very low positions on party lists. “If the Likud had a good reputation with the Druze, they would have reserved the 28th place for minorities. the 44”.
Sitting at a table next to Sultan Khalil Ibrahim’s grave, Taher said his party, known as Shachar in Hebrew, would not join a government led by Benjamin Netanyahu but was fit to serve in a coalition led by Benny Gantz. However, it is thought that the party has no chance of entering the Knesset.
The 45-year-old resident of the Druze town of Mas’ade in the Golan Heights was a teacher, lifeguard and social activist before entering politics as a senior adviser to the Gesher Orly Levy-Abekasis party when she was minister of empowerment and network advancement. in the Likud-led government from 2020 to 2021. She resigned when she joined the Likud party.
Taher explained that his party, which focuses on social issues and economic justice, is composed of 8 different groups, which are joined by students, retirees, Bedouins, Druze and teachers. There are 4 Jews and 4 Arabic-speaking minorities on the list.
Although he suffered socially to his Druze neighbors in the Golan for taking Israeli citizenship, banning weddings and funerals, he said views on Israel were changing.
“Since the violence in Syria, the Druze in the Golan [Heights] have changed direction and said there is no Syria left and we don’t need to be there,” Taher said. “I’m talking about the younger generation.
There are still greedy pro-Syrian elders who make noise, he said, no longer have the strength they once had.
“Their decisions are binding only on themselves. They can’t even drink water from a glass cup or a plastic cup at home. They can’t even for their wives, sons, daughters.
Unlike the Druze communities in the Golan Heights, voting is taking place in the village of Ghajar, which straddles the Israel-Lebanon border.
In the 2021 elections, more than 48% of the 1,739 eligible voters exercised their right to vote. Election officials at the school that functions as a polling station told The Times of Israel that turnout appears to be even higher this year, weeks after Israel lifted all elections. Access restrictions to the village and hordes of tourists began to arrive.
The city, which lies on either border, had been a closed military zone since Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, and special permission was required to enter or exit.
“Everyone votes,” said Naif, a young resident who was walking among new downtown food trucks that recently opened to cater to weekend crowds. However, I still didn’t know who to vote for.
Others showed up to vote in a similar mood. Malik, a retired structural worker, went to school while looking for someone to support. “This is our friend, and this is our friend. In my opinion, everyone is good. We will judge you based on your actions.
Nearby, Dovi and Yisroel, two young Chabad Jews, thankfully occupied the local polling station for those with COVID-19. No one showed up, they said.
Muhammad, an accountant, would not say who he voted for, but under pressure to vote for his entire circle of relatives. “The people are divided,” he said. They vote for anyone who is helping our society. “
Residents said the recent maritime border agreement with Lebanon did not influence their decisions and was not the focus of their concerns.
The villagers, many of whom have Lebanese citizenship in addition to Israeli citizenship, are largely part of the Likud and, unexpectedly, the ultra-Orthodox Shas. In 2021, either component won 30% of the vote, with the New The Party of Hope, now a component of Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party, comes in third with 16%.
The Arab and Meretz parties did not even get 3%.
“We feel like we belong to the Israeli nation,” said M. , an instructor at the school.
Netanyahu’s supporters in Ghajar are hesitant to express their opinion on the former prime minister.
“I like it, because the costs were low when I was in power,” said Naif, an engineer at a plastics factory. “He made peace with Dubai, he made peace with other countries. He’s a smart leader. “
M. A. agreed. ” Netanyahu is the top qualified for the post of prime minister. He’s strong, he’s a kind of security, he’s wise. It has created intelligent relationships with small countries. The others are experienced.
But they feel excluded from all Israeli political parties.
“Nobody cares about Ghajar, only the elections,” he said. I need the parties to come to the village, invest in the village, perceive the village, and deal with the disorders of the village. “
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