Green Subplots

Israeli elections always have their fair share of interesting subplots lurking behind the headline battle between the major parties. One of the interesting storylines this year is the presence of three "green" parties, all of which have just come on the scene in the last few years... Green Movement, Green Party, and Green Leaf Party. Got it? If there's any problem more intractable than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it's trying to remember the revolving cast of Israeli political parties and what they all stand for.

One of the candidates on the Green Movement list is American-born Gershon Baskin, the co-founder (with Hanna Siniora) of the Israeli-Palestinian Center for Research and Information, a small but very well-respected think-tank working in the areas of peace, security and coexistence. (At the age of 24, Baskin petitioned then-prime minister Menachem Begin to appoint him in charge of Jewish-Arab relations and after 14 months of lobbying, he was appointed the first civil servant in Israeli history responsible for Jewish-Arab relations.) Another candidate on the list is an American-born Israeli businessman, environmental and human rights activist who happens to be the brother-in-law of Sarah Silverman (the comedian). And speaking of comedy, the Green Leaf Party, often lumped in with the other green parties even though its platform is mainly about decriminalizing soft drugs, is led by leading Israeli comedian Gil Kopatch.

So: are all these choices an embarrassment of riches or just an embarrassment?