VOTE, Vote, Vote…VOTE! BUT VOTE FOR BIBI...

VOTE, Vote, Vote…VOTE!

By: Varda Meyers Epstein   Published: March 16th, 2015

Photo Credit: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO

After debating the issue at length and gathering as many perspectives as possible, I decided that I will indeed be voting and voting for Bibi, at that.  It was not an easy decision. There is no party that fits my personal vision for Israel. And there is no candidate who has not, at some point in time, done me wrong by doing things that go against my strongest held beliefs.  But I keep coming back to Bibi, giving that stunning speech to Congress. Only Bibi has the sort of leadership qualities we need to get us through this perilous time.  Every time I ask my husband if he’s read the newest narishkeit (for instance today it was the U.S. taking Iran and Hezbollah off the terror watch list), he says to me, “The forces of evil are very strong right now.”  Something huge is going on, something momentous. I feel it.

Do you?

So I do my best to play it all out in my head: Buji and Livni wouldn’t last very long. There’d be a big war, perhaps the war to end all wars, Chalila. We’d have diminished security depth and terrorists pouring in from every side and every corner of the world. And we all know what Iran would do.  Either it would be the ‘End Times‘ and Mashiach would come, or, as usually happen when security goes to um, excrement, everyone would suddenly become right wing and bring Bibi back.

Do I really want to live through all that?

Nah. I’d rather just head it all off at the start, by getting Bibi reelected.  And you know what my biggest dream is? That Bibi wins by a LANDSLIDE.  It would serve Obama right if everything he said about Bibi’s speech to Congress, and especially about it being a ploy to influence the Israeli elections CAME TRUE.  I’d love to see Obama’s face when he gets the news. I want to see the STEAM coming out his Mickey Mouse ears.

So let me go through the rest of it for you…

Contrary to the popular belief of leftist bloggers, I am no fringe right wing extremist. I am concerned that a certain *cough* right wing party has at least one member I consider to be a loose cannon. I can totally see him sending a letter bomb to President Obama. It makes me laugh so hard to think that anyone thinks BIBI is a hawk and a right wing extremist. Sheesh. These people are ridiculous.  And then there is the other right wing party. The one that was new last time around. The one I voted for.

They want to give the enemy autonomy on my land. They want to annex other parts of my land that belong to me (and you, of course), by birthright AND international law. Nope. Not buying it. I am for asserting sovereignty. No to annexation. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

So, then there is the option of not voting. Well, so many people said to me, “Varda, you HAVE to vote. You of all people. And besides, people died for you to have that privilege.” Okay, that last bit didn’t much impress me. Sounded like a certain people who say that a naughty little Jewish boy died for their sins. But okay, I see their point.

So it sticks in my craw. Voting for a guy who cheated on his wife, voted for Disengagement four times, froze construction, didn’t go far enough with the “operations” in Gaza, didn’t go far enough in pursuing justice after a three month-old little girl was decapitated on his watch, and etc., etc., etc.

I could go on until the cows come home, weighing the pros and cons, the sins and the absolute evil, up to and including the way this campaign played out. Bibi and Bogey being flown in by helicopter to Beit El to talk about building the settlements? AfterBogey ordered the demolition of a brand new home in Yitzhar?? A home into which a family, the Lazar family, had sunk their life savings? The house was finally ready for them in the days leading up to Pesach and they were about to move in. And then suddenly, no house.

Bogey had it torn down.  You know, I have fantasies about confronting Bibi about some of the things he’s done. I’d say, “How could you have released all those terrorists for Gilad Schalit, after you wrote in your book about how wrong it is to capitulate to terror?”  And he’d say something that stopped short of telling me he had no choice: Obama twisted his arm behind his back. I’d look into his eyes and know he was telling me the truth.  But what would he say about Bogey having that house demolished? Surely that had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with Obama’s druthers. But it happened on Bibi’s watch.

So how do I bring myself to vote for Bibi?

It’s this: I keep coming back to that speech to Congress. His dignity, his decorum, the power of his charisma, the obvious love between him and Sara, watching from the gallery. You can see she forgave him his earlier indignities.

I had always thought: how can I trust a man with my beloved country if he cheats on his wife?? But there was love between these two. I saw it and recognized it for what it was. And there is no one else who could have given that speech. Not with that level of greatness and humility.

I don’t trust Bibi. I don’t always know what he’s going to do. But every time someone challenges me to mention ONE THING BIBI HAS EVER DONE FOR YOU, I come back to that speech.  He gave that speech. The one Obama said was immoral for him to give. The one that had Obama losing control of his bladder in a very public way.

Only Bibi has the power to frighten Obama, to override his evil intentions against the Jews.  I tried to picture someone else in his place. Bennett, walking up to the podium, shaking hands.  And it just looked wrong. Eli Yishai? Could he deliver that speech? Does he even SPEAK English?

What about ten years from now, with the wisdom of age?  No. I just can’t see it. Bennett says all the right things, but he is annoyingly nasal, whereas Bibi’s voice is absolutely sonorous.  And yes. This is important. The quality of a leader’s voice is important.

As for blocs? I’ll leave that to the others. Bibi has always hinted that if he had a larger mandate, he could serve the interests of his right wing constituency more closely. True? False?  Ultimately, I just don’t know. And that irks me. The lack of transparency.

But we live in a tough neighborhood where there are many things happening out of the view of the public. And I have no idea what pressures are brought to bear on Bibi to do what he does.  And just like I gave Bennett a chance last time around, this time I’m going to give Bibi a chance to do the best he can by Israel.  Yes. It makes me nervous. Bibi is not a religious man. I can’t test his devotion to my principles.

But there was that speech. And there’s the nucleus of hope that he can slay the dragon, get us through the next 22 months, get us past the dangers that face us on every front.  Or maybe he can’t. And maybe the only important thing for me to do is to do my own hishtadlus and then pray very hard for my people and for Israel.

I’ve done my hishtadlus. And I’m voting for Bibi first thing tomorrow morning.

And then I’ll go home and say some Tehillim.

MY PS.-
REMEMBER...A VOTE FOR BIBI IS A SCORN FOR OBAMA!!!!  LOL...LOL....LOL