← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Jack Cassidy
Thread ID: 15357 | Posts: 3 | Started: 2004-10-19
2004-10-19 00:37 | User Profile
[url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts"][size=+1][color=black]Big turnout in Israel for absentee ballots [/color][/size][/url] [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/^http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite? pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1098072902369"][size=2][color=#0000ff]AP/Jpost ^[/color][/size][/url][size=2]| Oct 18, 2004 | Staff[/size]
[size=2]Posted on 10/18/2004 3:46:25 PM PDT by [/size][url="http://www.freerepublic.com/~veronica/"][size=2][color=black]veronica[/color][/size][/url]
Election day came early for some American citizens living in Israel.
Several dozen Americans gathered in a Tel Aviv apartment on Sunday to fill out their absentee ballots in a presidential election that is as hotly contested among partisans in Israel, as is the main battlefield in the United States.
Laura Goldman decorated her living room with blue balloons for the Democrat-sponsored event. She put a mock ballot box prominently in the middle, where voters could place their completed ballots for delivery to the US Embassy.
"I want to make it as easy as possible for people to vote," said Goldman, 46, an investment adviser from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "It's my civic duty."
The Middle East is a main issue in the contest between US President George W. Bush and challenger John Kerry, with the war in Iraq dominating foreign policy discussions.
Israel is playing less of a role as a campaign issue, but since the United States is Israel's main ally - sometimes its only one - a close US presidential election has a clear ripple effect across the ocean.
More than double the number of expatriate Americans have registered to vote with absentee ballots, compared to the 2000 election - 30,000 compared to 14,000, according to Mark Zober, 59, head of Democrats Abroad in Israel.
With an estimated 100,000-150,000 US citizens living in Israel, the percentage of registered expatriate voters is one of the highest in the world.
Activists say the jump in absentee voting is a worldwide phenomenon, and statehouses across the United States have been inundated with applications - so many that some voters won't get their ballots in time.
Advertising voting events across the country in English-language Israeli newspapers, organizers told potential voters that they could still vote.
They're offering the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), which is used in the event that a voter's state ballot doesn't arrive in time.
"The demand for the FWAB is extremely high, since not everyone has received their state ballot in the mail," said Kory Bardash, head of Republicans Abroad Israel.
The Republicans are hosting their own voting events in many places around the country, and organizers say both parties will pick up the pace as the election approaches.
The sharp differences dividing the US electorate, reflected among voters in Israel, has heightened interest here, said Hadass Tesher, 34, originally from Chicago, Illinois, a volunteer for the Democrats.
"I think people have learned the lesson of how important every vote is, that every vote counts," she said. "This year we are seeing unprecedented activity from around the world, with many first-time voters and voters who have not voted for many years feeling compelled to vote in this year's election."
Not all the local voters said they were casting ballots based on Mideast policy. For Rachel Spitz, 28, originally from Ohio, how the United States looks is more important. "Living overseas, we see how non-Americans view Americans, and how that view has changed for the worse," she said. "And if more Americans could see the international perspective up close, then perhaps they would change their perspective on how to vote."
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[url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts?page=1#1"][color=#000000]1[/color][/url] posted on 10/18/2004 3:46:26 PM PDT by [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/~veronica/"][color=#000000]veronica[/color][/url] [ [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/reply?c=1"][color=#000099]Post Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/private?c=1"][color=#000099]Private Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/replies?c=1"][color=#000099]View Replies[/color][/url] ]
To: donnab
Israelis are for Bush by a wide margin.
[url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts?page=5#5"][color=#000000]5[/color][/url] posted on 10/18/2004 3:53:26 PM PDT by [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/~veronica/"][color=#000000]veronica[/color][/url] ("Not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslims." Abdulrahman Al-Rashed) [ [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/reply?c=5"][color=#000099]Post Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/private?c=5"][color=#000099]Private Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts#3"][color=#000099]To 3[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/replies?c=5"][color=#000099]View Replies[/color][/url] ]
To: RoseofTexas
Israel Jews are for Bush I think 51%-24% in the most recent poll.
[url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts?page=6#6"][color=#000000]6[/color][/url] posted on 10/18/2004 3:53:29 PM PDT by [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/~mike10542/"][color=#000000]Mike10542[/color][/url] [ [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/reply?c=6"][color=#000099]Post Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/private?c=6"][color=#000099]Private Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts#4"][color=#000099]To 4[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/replies?c=6"][color=#000099]View Replies[/color][/url] ]
To: Mike10542
Boy wouldn't it be something if the Jewish community from Israel were the voting block that carried W over the margin of voter fraud in Nov.! God bless W with a Victory!
[url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts?page=8#8"][color=#000000]8[/color][/url] posted on 10/18/2004 3:58:21 PM PDT by [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/~roseoftexas/"][color=#000000]RoseofTexas[/color][/url] [ [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/reply?c=8"][color=#000099]Post Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/private?c=8"][color=#000099]Private Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts#6"][color=#000099]To 6[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/replies?c=8"][color=#000099]View Replies[/color][/url] ]
Rejoice. Israelis support Bush in a landslide. Let's hope Kerry's lawyers don't try to dispute all their ballots.
[url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts?page=15#15"][color=#000000]15[/color][/url] posted on 10/18/2004 4:09:15 PM PDT by [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/~cinnamongirl/"][color=#000000]Cinnamon Girl[/color][/url] [ [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/reply?c=15"][color=#000099]Post Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/private?c=15"][color=#000099]Private Reply[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/posts#1"][color=#000099]To 1[/color][/url] | [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1249205/replies?c=15"][color=#000099]View Replies[/color][/url] ]
2004-10-19 12:50 | User Profile
[QUOTE]Israel is playing less of a role as a campaign issue, but since the United States is Israel's main ally - sometimes its only one - a close US presidential election has a clear ripple effect across the ocean. [/QUOTE] No :dung:, and I wonder why? I hope one day to see a candidate run for president on a three "I"s platform; Israel, Iraq, and immigration and why all are bad for the U.S. [QUOTE]Boy wouldn't it be something if the Jewish community from Israel were the voting block that carried W over the margin of voter fraud in Nov.! God bless W with a Victory![/QUOTE] And for you, "Rose of Texas" and you either are of military age or have kids of military age find yourself or your kids drafted instead of those who recognize a fool's errand when they see one. Go fight for your masters, slave of ignorance and superstition.
2004-10-19 13:13 | User Profile
What wonderful news for Gabrielle!
(After all, the ones in Israel know whom they are supposed to support, even if the ones in Brooklyn and Palm Beach are still a little confused about it).