As Election Nears, Israeli Candidates Vie for the American Vote

The debate moderator asked the candidates what their parties would do to prevent a third intifada, an increasingly common concern in the Israeli election campaign. In his answer, Jeremy Gimpel drew from his upbringing – in Atlanta, Ga.

“I’m from America,” Gimpel said in English. “We don’t talk to terrorists. In America, we eliminate terrorists.”

Soon after Gimpel had finished, New Jersey native Alon Tal shot back.

“There are graves in the Wild West that say, ‘Here lies John Smith, who exercised all his rights,’” Tal said, also in English. “Do we want to find a pragmatic solution or do we want to be self-righteous?”

Tal is a candidate for the center-left Hatnua party, while Gimpel is running with the hard-right Jewish Home faction. They are two of a handful of American-born candidates at the forefront of an intensive push to win over English-speaking voters in advance of Israel’s Jan. 22 elections.

Read More: @ haaretz.com

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