Sunday, March 15, 2020

How Judea and Samaria Voted

Originally published in myesha.org.il, translated and edited by Hillel Fendel
A man voting in Israel
True, the world's focus is almost entirely directed at the Corona virus and its constantly changing consequences. But with faith that Corona will not ultimately be a world-stopper, let us look at some very important people in Israel – the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria – and how they voted in a very important election, namely, the most recent balloting for Israel's Knesset.

The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha Council) compiled and publicized the results for the 187,725 Yesha residents who cast ballots in the March 2nd election. This, incidentally, represented a voting rate of 76.6%, significantly higher than the already impressive 71% rate for the entire country.

 Because the subject of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria was highlighted in the months and weeks before the election, the voice of those living in those areas is critical regarding the future of sovereignty.

 Incidentally, Yesha residents were busy not only voting on Election Day. Thousands of them made their presence felt in large cities around the country, to encourage votes – and to "get the vote out" – for any of the four nationalist and/or religious parties: Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and of course Yemina. The mayors of the Yesha towns established special headquarters for this campaign in the several weeks preceding the elections.

 Here are the numbers:

 * Some 464,000 Jews live in Judea, the Jordan Valley, and Samaria. Of these, 52.8% of them are eligible to vote – equal to 3.8% of the eligible voters throughout the State of Israel

 * As stated, 76.6% of the eligible Yesha voters cast ballots – more than other Israelis, but 2% less than in the September elections. Keep in mind that the population of Yesha is relatively young in comparison with the rest of the country, and it includes many soldiers who vote in IDF bases and are therefore not counted as having voted in their home localities.

 So how many votes did each party get in Yesha? As follows:

  • Likud - 29.7% (22.4% in the September 2019 elections)
  • Yemina (Bennett, Smotrich, etc.) - 22.8% (24.4%)
  • United Torah Judaism (Ashkenazi Hareidi party) - 21.1% (20.4%)
  • Shas - 10.7% (9.9%)
  • Blue and White - 9.1% (9.0%)
  • Yisrael Beiteinu (Lieberman) - 2.8% (3.6%)
  • Otzmah Yehudit (Ben-Gvir) - 1.6% (6.9%)
  • Labor-Gesher-Meretz - 1.3% (2.3%)
  • Other parties - 0.9%

* The Yesha cities with the most eligible voters:

  • Modi'in Illit (28,796)
  • Maaleh Adumim (28,027)
  • Beitar Ilit (26,014).

* Local town councils with the highest voting percentages:

  • Elkana (82.8%)
  • Bet El (80.1%)
  • Kedumim (79.9%)
  • Oranit (76.8%)
  • Givat Ze'ev (76.5%)

* Communities with the highest voting percentages:

  • Sansana, a religious community in the southern Judean Mountains just southwest of Hevron (91.1%)
  • Amichai, formerly Amona, uprooted four years ago and relocated near Shilo as Amichai (90.4%)
  • Rechelim, east of Ariel (88.7%)
  • Mevo Horon, east of Modiin (88.6%)
  • Bruchin, west of Ariel (87.7%)
  • Har Bracha, near Shechem (86.4%).

* The community with the highest voting percentage...

  • for the Likud: Keidar – 70.3%.
  • for Yemina: Bruchin – 80.3%
  • for UTJ: Matityahu (just outside Modiin Illit) – 84%
  • for Shas: Ganei Modiin – 46.8%
  • for Blue and White: Sal'it (a secular moshav in western Shomron, population approx. 1,200) – 71.7%
  • for Otzmah: Yitzhar – 23.3%
  • for Yisrael Beiteinu: Ariel (population 21,000, including many olim from the former Soviet Union) - 18.8%
  • for Labor-Gesher-Meretz: Netiv HaGdud (Jordan Valley, population: 200) – 27.5%