Lt. Col. (Res.) Lavi Zamir, who has been fighting in the Gaza Strip since the morning of Shabbat Simchat Torah, stopped the election race for the leadership of the Lev HaSharon Regional Council and joined the fighters on the frontline. In an interview with Radio 103FM, he criticized the decision to hold the elections for the local authorities on January 30 despite the war. Minister Moshe Arbel went on air and clarified that there will be ballot boxes in Gaza on election day.
"The war caught me at the height of the campaign, just days before the elections," Lavi described. "Of course I left everything and ran to my soldiers, and since then I have been here fighting. From the beginning of the fighting we were with the Nahal Brigade, at first we organized in the north and very quickly went down south. No fighter lacks anything, they are brought food and water. There is a well-oiled operation here with a skilled and strong reserve force."
He continued to wonder: "How is it possible to hold municipal elections like this? I'm supposed to choose whether I stay with my soldiers as their commander or run a campaign? It's probably legal, but it's not moral, not ethical, and doesn't meet the values of a fighter or a human being . I'm surprised by the interior minister's decision. What, I'll run a campaign now? I'll talk to the guys about trash removal? We're at war. It crosses parties."
"We fight shoulder to shoulder, I don't care what the political opinion of those who fight next to me is," Zamir clarified. "For victory you need all your energy focused on the goal, in war you don't do such things, period. I'm in the reserves and I didn't have the head to deal with my campaign at the time. I invested a lot of money to run, I've been a plenary member for a full term. I sent a letter to Minister Arbel, unfortunately I did not receive an answer."
"There is a political decision here"
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel joined the conversation, and commented on the decision to hold the elections in about a month and a half despite the complex war. "Immediately with the enactment of the law to postpone the date of the elections, I contacted both the head of the National Security Council and the supervisor of the elections at the Ministry of the Interior, and asked them to carry out comprehensive staff work. I told them that I would accept whatever result they brought, as long as they did comprehensive work, and I will know how to withstand pressure. Any decision, postponement or not. There is a political decision here.
"I said that I am a political person and want to keep this decision away from me," Arbel said. "When the work of the staff was finished and the IDF could also say that the capabilities to live up to January 30 are in place, also in terms of monitoring the elections, the deployment of ballot boxes. There will be ballot boxes in Gaza on January 30 and soldiers who carry out combat will also be able to vote. Regarding the issue of the candidates, also in terms of the personnel department, there is no obstacle to releasing them for the benefit of the campaign. At the time of Operation Cast Lead there were also elections for local authorities, there was then a petition to postpone the elections and Judge Elyakim Rubinstein wrote that it is desirable to avoid postponing the elections due to enemy action."
At the end of his words, Lavi shared with dismay: "I understand that technically it is possible to hold the elections. Let's say I am released, what do I do now? My entire staff is mobilized."