Tuesday January 22, 2013

I've Been Thinking:

Israelis are about to vote.

On the lighter side, one candidate's water broke and she ran to the hospital with Zippi Livni, the party head, accompanying her.

On a more serious note, and this is an issue that concerns me a lot, on the eve of the election Shas is giving out blessings and amulets in exchange for votes.

The amulets are called kamayahs.

Giving blessings in exchange for a vote is totally illegal. It is even more powerful an incentive in certain communities than paying people to vote.

The kamayahs come from Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party and one of the undisputed greatest rabbis in the world today. So even non religious people and certainly people who are religious will vote in exchange for a kamayah that promises economic success.

Shas was fined 37000 shekels which is a out $9000.

The fine is a drop in the bucket and will have no impact.
The kamayah will most certainly have an impact on this election.

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