For the first time in Israel's history, a vegetarian is poised to lead the powerful Middle East nation.
Some of you might not think that Tzipi Livni's culinary preference is the most important qualification for someone who is set to become Israel's second female prime minister.
Some might view her tenure as Israel's foreign minister as a more important qualification. Or her former posting as minister of justice. Or maybe her current role as Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians.
But, as a fellow vegetarian, this writer takes note of a rarity in global politics that makes her uniquely qualified to, say, dramatically improve the quality of vegetarian food in Jerusalem.
(OK, I don't know if she really is the first vegetarian poised to lead Israel. Maybe Golda Meir was known for her tofu scramble. Or maybe Menachem Begin loved veggie burgers... I'm sure someone out there can shed light on this important issue...)
After a long night of counting in the Kadima Party primary, final results showed Livni beating the more hawkish Shaul Mofaz by about 400 votes - about 1 percent of the 39,000 votes cast.
The results proved to be much closer than expected. Exit polls for the three major Israeli television news channels showed Livni topping Mofaz by 10 percent. (The television stations are claiming that sabotage and mischief ruined their polls...)
The surprisingly-close finale has some Mofaz supporters pushing the former defense minister/current transportation minister to contest the results and demand a recount.
At present, though, Livni is one major step closer to becoming the second woman to ever lead Israel and the first since Gold Meir in the 1970s.
And, of course, she is poised to become, perhaps, the first vegetarian to lead Israel.
(Did you know actress Alicia Silvestone was a vegetarian too? There are many influential vegetarians lurking out there...)
Becoming Israel's next PM is by-no-means assured.
Livni is going to have to persuade, prod and cajole her political allies and adversaries into forming a new, ruling coalition. That won't be easy.
If she can't form a coalition this fall, she will have to quickly lead Kadima into nationwide elections, where she faces a tough task in beating Benjamin Netanyahu and his less-politically compromising Likud Party.
For a good profile of Livni, check out this one by NPR's Eric Westervelt.
One of the most interesting parts of the NPR piece is this interesting tidbit about Livni: She likes to read the ending of mystery novels first, so she knows from the beginning how it turns out.
Seeing how it all turns out in the end before it starts will be a little bit harder if-and-when Livni becomes Israel's next prime minister...
Weird but intriguing article--as a fellow vegetarian, I'm glad to see it. It would be great to see that if she is a vegetarian for moral reasons, namely respect for other living things, then maybe she'll take a different approach to Palestine and peace may actually be possible. I'm tired of getting my hopes up with the PM of Israel changes only to have it replaced with disappointment and disgust, but we'll see...
Posted by: SiberianRat | September 19, 2008 at 12:49 AM
Most vegetarians stop eating meat because they don't want to take part in a corrupt and heartless system that tortures and kills the defenseless. So .... good start!
Posted by: Bob | September 19, 2008 at 06:38 PM
Well she might be vegetarian, but the cold fact is that she is a former terrorist and responsible for murdering people.
nice!
http://andishehblog.wordpress.com
Posted by: kourosh shahidi | October 03, 2008 at 07:01 PM
hitler was a vegetarian too.
this tipsy lady or whatever she is named has brutally murdered people. but againt this is not new for israeli politicians.
even many among the youth that is forced into army have bloody hands. ive meet bunc of israelis that play backpackers here in europe. these people i meet have been in the army and were responsible for half a dozen innocent lives, among them many children.
go israel go!
Posted by: kourosh shahidi | October 03, 2008 at 07:05 PM