Dan Ben-David (Professor Tel Aviv University) "In a country where publicly elected officials are not guided by the laws of the land, it is not surprising that strong-handed methods, corruption and deception are becoming accepted and pardonable norms for attaining one's objectives in society as a whole".

 

Daniel Ben Simon (Journalist):  “The lack of communication between politicians and the public frightens voters away from the polling stations and reinforces the feeling that the state is indifferent to its citizens.”

 

Israel Democracy Institute:  "More Israelis talk about politics...Less Israelis trust the politicians".

 

Imri Cohen (student on mock elections):  “The student’s point of departure is that the government is corrupt and lost and nothing can be changed.”

 

Mervyn Doobov (retired Sr. Officer of Australian Civil Service, serving the Prime Minister & Cabinet)  "MKs known to their constituents by name have an incentive to represent them faithfully or face defeat at the next election; there is no hiding in a party list.  This is real representative democracy."

 

The late Dr. Daniel J. Elazar (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs): There is only one way to bring about electoral reform in Israel -- by a democratic "citizens revolt" in the form of a massive campaign of public mobilization.

 

Naftali Gan (student on mock elections):  "It all seems the same to me, I don't feel a connection to any party"

 

Jerusalem Post Editorial:  "This newspaper has argued and will continue to argue strongly for electing at least some of the Knesset by district, thereby increasing the accountability of MKs-and the relevance of elections to the voter."

 

Daniel Kayros (responsible for fiscal litigation for the Movement Quality Government): 

"Against the backdrop of the amazing historic story of this country, to see the crumbling of government morals is extremely discouraging... to me, it is an emergency call to the flag.  I only wish more of the country felt that way"

 

Elaine Levitt (co-founder of CEPAC):  "The apathy of the population in our latest elections depicts an alienation from a system which puts MKs into the Knesset who are detached from the general population.  An MK's first priority seems to be is his/her place on the party list...second priority,  to the party and very far behind is the public."

 

Binyamin Netanyahu (former Prime Minister):  “There can be little doubt that a movement away from proportional elections (for the Knesset) will increase accountability by tying parliamentarians to their constituents.”

 

Shlomo Maital (Academic Director, TIM-T.A.): “As a Haifa resident, I would love to elect an MK representing our city, but at the moment we can only vote for lists.  In contrast, half of the new Palestinian Parliament was chosen locally”

 

Ron Nachman (Ariel Mayor and former M.K.):  “Why do we need 26 ministers when a country the size of America has 15?”

 

Aharon Nathan (Social Anthropologist): "We need to turn our attention to urgent reform of the electoral system with a shift toward regional, integrated localities and away from divisive ethnic and immigrant groupings."

 

"The only arm that has the power to reform the executive and the judiciary is the Knesset as the depository of the sovereignty of the nation.  But to start doing that, it has to first reform itself".

 

Yitzhak Rabin after the Yom Kippur War, as quoted by  Yossi Sarid (Haaretz-20/10/2006):  "Rabin came to persuade me that there was no way of saving the country without changing the electoral system:  No more proportional elections; constituency elections must be instituted in their stead.  Every candidate for the Knesset would determine his own fate in his own district and obligation to the party would be replaced by direct obligation to the public. "

 

Amnon Rubinstein: (Former M.K. and Minister, now President of the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya)  "Our pure proportional system creates a dependence on small minority parties that exact a disproportionate price for their participation in the coalition."

 

Ze'ev Segal: (Haaretz) One reason direct election of the Prime Minister failed in l992 was because "The law called for the Knesset's approval of ministerial appointments.  The overwhelming majority of ministers have been Knesset members whose cabinet appointments were based on their party affiliations with complete disregard for their professional qualifications."

 

 "In a presidential system, it is preferable that cabinet ministers who are part of the executive branch, not serve in the legislative branch.  Avoiding this creates a true separation of powers and enables the president to appoint ministers who are qualified in their fields and not only by their parties and connections."

 

Adi Sternberg  (Former director CECI): "Every Israeli prime minister spends a third or more of his time just surviving and managing his coalition.  There is no way to function while doing this.  It is no way to administer a country."

 

Gad Yacobi (former U.N.Ambassador & Minister):  “Israel is the only country in the democratic world whose parliament is voted for via a national election system.”