The Lesson of Israel

I find the country of Israel incredibly complex. It's parliamentary system is very representative of its people, and its multi-party system is something of envy. It complements Israels extreme diversity among ideological, cultural, and ethnic lines. The United States is as much, if not more so, diverse as Israel, yet it only has two political parties that appeal little to the moderates in the middle. Some could argue that the Knesset is fractious governing body based on unstable coalitions, but unfortunately we can hardly criticize. Our government is incredibly divided between only the two parties, Democrats and Republicans, and so this congress has accomplished very little. But in measures of representation, the Knesset is much more representative then the US Congress. Congressmen tend to vote on party lines, and with only two parties to choose from, there are many American's that can't find a candidate that can fully represent their beliefs and ideas.

Israel also has a much more efficient voting system. It is simple, straightforward and not very tedious where as ours, according to the literature, is the complete opposite. Our system results in low voter turnout, and somewhat meaningless, or less meaningful elections.