Voters turn out en masse despite forecast of apathy
Feb. 10, 2009
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
A man casts his ballot at a polling station in Jerusalem, Tuesday.
Political leaders cast their ballots on Tuesday morning and called upon those eligible to vote to brave the rainy weather and exercise their right.
Israel Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman was the first of the leaders of the four major parties to vote, afterwards saying, "I wish to take advantage of this moment to call upon all of the residents of Israel, Jews and Christians, Druze and Muslim, to come and vote."
Lieberman praised his own party as the only one that "has come to work" and was confident that "people would come and vote even in a hurricane."
Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sarah voted in Jerusalem's Rehavia neighborhood. Netanyahu expressed optimism coming out of the polling booth.
"The people want change, and today they will choose change," he said. "Those who want a new way will focus around the Likud and around me."
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni voted near her Tel Aviv home and said, "I have done all that I would want every citizen of Israel to do."
Addressing those ensconced in their homes, Livni said: "Get out of your houses; rain or no rain, cold weather or warm weather, you go to the ballot booth, stand behind the partition, close your eyes and think; think of hope, think of what each and every one of us wants to feel when the results are published."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also chose to cast his vote early, but did not have much to say to the media.
Labor chairman Ehud Barak cast his vote near his home in Tel Aviv and expressed confidence that his party would emerge stronger from the elections. "Today is the voters' day; people clear their heads of all of the spins and propaganda and ask themselves 'who can I trust,'" Barak said, calling upon voters to "come home" and vote for Labor.
Shas's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, escorted by the party's chairman, Eli Yishai, and other Knesset members, arrived at a polling station in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof to cast his vote.
"I have a good feeling," Yishai said, entering the polling station, "My assessment is that Netanyahu will assemble the next government and that Shas will be stronger."
Yishai railed against those who opted to choose Lieberman's party, saying that they were "voting against Jewish tradition."
Yaakov Katz, the leader of the National Union party, cast his vote in the settlement of Beit El and took the opportunity to comment on the rainy weather.
"These rains are a blessing that portends a deluge of votes for the National Union," Katz said. "Our public is invigorated, not deterred, by the rain."
Green Movement-Meimad leader Rabbi Michael Melchior cast his vote at the Ahavat Zion school in Jerusalem and said there was "a very strong feeling" regarding his party's prospects.
"There is a buzz, smiles and lots of excitement," he said. "Thousands of Green Movement-Meimad volunteers are spread across the country with the utmost motivation in order to make the election surprise."
Melchior claimed that it was "clear that we have passed the voter threshold."
Yisrael Hazaka (A Strong Israel) chairman Ephraim Sneh was confident that his party would pass the threshold and win at least three seats.
"Election Day has begun and to stop crime that can harm every one of us we'll all vote "Hai" for Yisrael Hazaka," he said in a recorded telephone message to supporters Tuesday morning. 
Rioters in Umm el-Fahm Tuesday.
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MK Eldad 'stoned out' of Umm el-Fahm
Feb. 10, 2009
Yaakov Lappin and JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
Yaakov Lappin and JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
MK Aryeh Eldad (NU), who had replaced far-right activist Baruch Marzel as an election monitor in Umm el-Fahm, was removed from the polling station by police and escorted from the town amid concerns for his safety after Arabs started rioting outside the voting center.
When Eldad was escorted from the premises in a police car, stones were hurled toward the vehicle and police clashed with rioters. Five people were arrested on suspicion of throwing stones at police.
One of the suspects under arrest is a resident of Jaffa who police said arrived to incite violence in the area.
Northern District Chief Cmdr. Shimon Koren vowed to act with zero tolerance towards those who disturb the peace, adding that he had ordered his forces to move in and make arrests when necessary.
Nevertheless, Northern Police District spokesman Yehuda Maman had said no violent incidents took place around the polling station due to the heavy police presence in the area, and police said Eldad asked them to escort him out of the Arab town.
"He asked us to help him leave. All is quiet here," Maman told The Jerusalem Post, speaking by cell phone from Umm el-Fahm.
Speaking inside the polling station before he left, Eldad said he had many other stations to visit, maintaining that the rioting did not scare him.
"What, you think they're going to hit me?" he asked rhetorically.
Earlier, police had denied Marzel entrance to the northern Arab town, where he was to oversee a polling station in the northern Arab town, citing intelligence which indicates that his presence there would pose "a serious threat to public safety."
"Upon assessing the situation, it was determined that there were extreme concerns for public order and safety," said Koren. "I therefore decided to prevent Marzel from entering the Umm el-Fahm polling station."
Marzel, the National Jewish Front chairman, called it a "black day for democracy," adding that police had surrendered to a rabble" because they couldn't maintain order in the Arab sector.
Following the police decision, Eldad received permission from the Central Elections Committee (CEC) to replace Marzel as polling station monitor and police initially said he could go anywhere he pleased.
"We are not preventing Knesset Member Eldad from entering any community...and all claims to the contrary are false," police had said.
The police's decision to ban Marzel from the town came despite intensive police preparations on Monday night ahead of Marzel's scheduled arrival.
Koren held a situation analysis with Northern District heads and ordered back-up police forces to be mobilized at the entrances to Umm el-Fahm as part of police preparations.
Police also released a statement on Monday evening pledging "zero tolerance" for any rioters and requested communal leaders in Umm el-Fahm to calm the spirits of residents.
Koren concluded however that these measures would be inadequate in preventing rioting and a disruption to voting should Marzel arrive.
Dozens of youngsters had already gathered at the entrance to the town early Tuesday morning to prevent the right-wing activist from entering.
"We have come to condemn the racism and this fascist," one of the demonstrators said. "We want to live in peace, but we won't let any racist into Umm el-Fahm. He won't enter our home."
The CEC had ruled late Monday night that there was no basis to disqualify the far-right activist from serving as a monitor on behalf of the National Union.
Reflecting a recent Supreme Court decision regarding Marzel's right to lead a march in the volatile Arab city, the CEC had ruled that the police are responsible for ensuring that Marzel's presence did not disturb the public order, and that fear of unrest was no reason to prohibit Marzel from representing his party.
Rebecca Anna Stoil and Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report. 
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Tuesday Night Election Results: All Night Coverage in English
Shevat 15, 5769, 09 February 09 11:48
by Baruch Gordon(IsraelNN.com) Israel National News will provide all-night election coverage in English Tuesday night with a live TV broadcast and a chart displaying election results which will be updated every 15 minutes throughout the night.
Yishai Fleisher and Elliot Coe will open the TV broadcast at 9:00 p.m., one hour before the close of the polling stations. They will be joined by guests and commentators both in-studio and off site. The broadcast will include footage from the headquarters of some of the parties.
At 1:00 a.m., Alex Traiman and Yehuda HaKohen will take over as hosts on the special election broadcast until final results become clear.
Starting at 10 p.m., the election results page will display the results of exit polls until approximately 11:00 p.m. at which time the real results are expected to start trickling in. Once the first real results become available, the page will be updated every 15 minutes throughout the night.
No other English Israel news outlet is providing such extensive coverage. Election night at IsraelNationalNews.com
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