Dear Yuyutsu ,
Thanks .
Does anyone know what percentage of Australian Dual Citizens of Israel attend the ballots ? And whether that percentage varies , & if so , is there a trend up or down now ?

Do you know , off hand , what is the number of Australian/Israeli Dual Citizens domiciled in Australia , & how stable that number has been ?

Dear Oz,

The number of Israeli-citizens who lived in Australia (not all necessarily Australian citizens) in 2009 was estimated at 7340, that is up from 5000 in 2001.

Very few of those would bother to pay around $3000 (in economy-class) and travel to Israel 2 days each way just in order to vote.

The phenomena was more common in America (before the global financial crisis), where chartered-planes were filled with former Israelis travelling especially for election-day. But then it only takes 8 hours each way from there, and costed only $700, sometimes even as low as $300.

Dear Danielle,

Bringing more babies to an already-overcrowded world is not a recommended solution.

Many settlers ARE working and they do teach maths. If you check the list of their products you can find a variety of good-quality produce. I think you confuse between the settlers and ultra-orthodox Jews. They are for the most part quite distinct. While Israelis pay the later with tax-money, they pay the former with their blood. They hardly have any choice because it is very difficult to form a coalition without both. Hence, the new anti-boycott law is ideologically-based, not financially-based.

Note that there are whole ultra-orthodox towns in the West-Bank, but their residents do not identify with settler ideology. They live there due to economic duress (too many children!) and would gladly leave if given alternative housing in Israel.

P.S. Yes, the government did threaten the ultra-orthodox regarding maths, but never had the power/determination to follow through, given the ultra-orthodox party inside the coalition.

I don't see how a conflict is likely when dual-citizens vote. They mostly cancel each other anyway (burning many tonnes of fuel in the process). Jews in general can only vote in Israel if they officially migrate there. That may have adverse tax implications if later they wish to migrate for real, so not many do it.

Dear Yuyutsu,

I wasn’t actually recommending that Israeli’s match baby-for-baby.

You state

“The international community through the UN and its security council should declare uneqivocally that settlement in the occupied territories is NOT ON.”

... then further on state

“Note that there are whole ultra-orthodox towns in the West-Bank, but their residents do not identify with settler ideology. They live there due to economic duress (too many children!) and would gladly leave if given alternative housing in Israel.”

So there appears to be is a population problem within Israel itself .... or is it available housing ...?

Weren’t certain settlements considered a security buffer? What about UN peace-keepers. Then again, they are only successful if both sides want peace.

The solution would be two states ... With borders determined, then other issues could be resolved. It returns to Palestinians recognising Israel's right to exist ...

Dear Danielle,

"So there appears to be is a population problem within Israel itself .... or is it available housing ...?"

There is no country in the world without population problems, but if there is a will, then there is also a way.
For decades the Israeli government directed funds towards the settlements at the expense of Israel itself. That forced the poor, especially the ultra-orthodox that have so many children, to live in the west-bank: not because of ideology, but simply in order to avoid sharing one's bedroom with one's mother-in-law.

"Weren’t certain settlements considered a security buffer?"

What a miserable excuse! Civilians are a security burden, not a buffer. A proper security buffer is manned and patrolled by the army and is typically a free-firing zone, so whenever enemy movement is detected or suspected the army can shoot anything that moves there. How can you do it with civilians around?

"What about UN peace-keepers"

There aren't any at the moment.
Do you know how many troops will be needed?
Would Australia be willing to give its share?

"The solution would be two states ... With borders determined, then other issues could be resolved. It returns to Palestinians recognising Israel's right to exist"

But what if they don't? Time runs in favour of Arabs because Israel is crumbling from within. All they need is to wait. True, ordinary Palestinians meanwhile suffer, but most of their leadership does not care.

Israel's priority should be to save its own society, its own integrity, its own moral structure, its own international relations, and for that it needs to get out of the honey-trap in which it is caught since 1967. Peace may or may-not come at a later date.

Dear Yuyutsu ,
I do not wish to give the wrong impression.
I still support a full & widespread BDS .
But , speaking with you , I have more hope of a solution based on practicality & ,hopefully decency .

The following three camps are among supporters of the BDS campaign:

(1) critics of Israel but who support a two-state solution.
(2) those who support the dismantling of the current Jewish State and replacement with a single (highly theoretical) secular democratic state.
(3) those who desire the destruction of Israel by any means necessary.

Any distinction between harsh criticism of the state of Israel, condemnation of its continued existence, and calls for its eradication are blurred.