• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Sunday, February 5, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Marijuana Legalization Becomes Unexpected Issue in Israeli Polls

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
04/04/19
in World
Far-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin, who has surprisingly brought marijuana legalization to the forefront of Israel's upcoming elections.

Far-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin, who has surprisingly brought marijuana legalization to the forefront of Israel's upcoming elections. Photo: AFP

40
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The pungent whiff of marijuana can frequently be encountered during strolls past Tel Aviv’s sidewalk cafes, and whether its recreational use should now be legalized has become an unexpected issue before April 9 elections.

Equally as unexpected is the party that has brought the issue to the forefront: the far-right Zehut (Identity), led by former lawmaker Moshe Feiglin.

Feiglin’s unusual combination of Jewish religious nationalism and libertarianism has drawn in a strange mix of voters, from young weed smokers to right-wingers attracted by his extreme views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Campaign photos featuring him with round glasses, a closely cropped beard and a black turtleneck bear an unmistakable resemblance to someone who would likely be on the opposite side of the ideological spectrum: late Apple founder Steve Jobs.

To accusations that he is exploiting marijuana legalization for political gain, Feiglin has a simple reply.

“If it’s true, so what?” the 56-year-old former lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s Likud party told AFP.

The most recent opinion polls forecast Zehut winning around five to seven seats in Israel’s 120-member parliament, meaning Feiglin could form part of the next governing coalition.

The party’s rise has led to something of a contact high.

Others have jumped on the issue, with even Netanyahu brandishing his marijuana bona fides.

Talk of marijuana legalization is not entirely new in Israel, and enforcement for casual smokers can be light.

In certain bars and cafes, it is smoked more or less openly.

In 2017, Israel’s public security ministry partially decriminalized recreational marijuana use, setting fines and treatment for initial offenders instead of criminal procedures. The new rules took effect on April 1.


‘Not Even Have Dreamed’ 

Netanyahu, who is fighting for a fifth term, has not ruled out full legalization.

Cultivation of cannabis for medical use has been legal for more than a decade but is strictly regulated, as is consumption.

The government in January gave the final go-ahead for its export, expected to bring in big revenues.

There are currently a handful of companies in Israel growing medical cannabis, with many more waiting for licenses.

Legalization is just part of Zehut’s unique ideology, which includes far-right positions such as Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank and an end to Muslim administration of the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.

The compound, the third-holiest in Islam, is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and revered as Judaism’s holiest.

He also champions data privacy, seeks to liberalize marriage procedures, and wants police to be more tolerant of non-violent protests.

Left-wing party Meretz says it was first to demand legalization across the board and Labour also supports such change, but it is Feiglin who has put a campaign spotlight on the issue.

The Green Leaf party has been advocating it for years but its leader, Oren Liebowitz, says he would “not even have dreamed” that it could have stirred such election interest.

“In Israel, 27 percent of the public says they have smoked in the past year and 71 percent are in favor of legalization,” he told AFP at a Tel Aviv cafe terrace.

His party is not running in this election so that others with a better chance of making it into parliament can reap the benefit of traditional Green Leaf supporters’ votes, he says.


‘We Are Sick’ 

Israeli chemist Raphael Mechoulam was the first to isolate THC, the major psychoactive substance in cannabis, and pioneered its medical applications.

He was sceptical about imminent change.

“Israel society is a conservative one,” he said. “Medical and legalization of cannabis are two completely different things.”

He added that only a few doctors are authorized to prescribe marijuana for medical use.

“It’s a political issue,” said Hagai Hillman, founder and CEO of B.O.L Pharma, a pharmaceutical company that grows and distributes therapeutic cannabis.

He says he will never invest in anything outside medical marijuana.

“Cannabis is a drug, and it is a dangerous drug,” he said.

On a recent day, around 100 people turned out in Tel Aviv to hear delegates from several parties explain their pot policy.

Some let off firecrackers while waiting for the speakers.

“I am undecided between Meretz and Zehut,” said teacher Eran Shalev, 37, referring to two parties that are political polar opposites.

In the crowd was stand-up comic and Zehut member Gadi Wilcherski, who backs Feiglin’s stance on marijuana but admits to ignoring the rest of his manifesto.

“You can’t have a nation that constantly goes to war and our children sit in the shelters, and after that they go to the army (for compulsory service),” he said.

“You can’t expect this kind of nation to be healthy mentally. We are sick, all of us. Cannabis is the best cure.”


More on the Subject 

 

Share40Tweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Palestine war, Gaza
Middle East

Israel Refuses to Work With ICC on War Crimes Probe, Says ‘No Authority’

by Staff Writer
April 8, 2021
The Har Gilo settlement in the West Bank, with the city of Jerusalem seen in the background, October 13, 2020.
Middle East

Netanyahu Orders New Settlement in Israeli-Occupied West Bank

by Staff Writer
January 11, 2021
A Palestinian employee dressed as Santa Claus takes a customer's temperature at a cafeteria in Gaza City.
Middle East

Amnesty Calls on Israel to Give Palestinians Virus Vaccine

by Staff Writer
January 5, 2021
A view of porta cabins in Givat Hamatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of annexed East Jerusalem
Middle East

Israeli Protesters Taunt, Chase EU Envoys in Annexed East Jerusalem Area

by Staff Writer
November 16, 2020
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (L) and Sovereign Council Chair Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Burhan.
Middle East

Israel-Sudan Deal Welcomed as Palestinians Cry Foul

by Staff Writer
October 23, 2020
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Featured

Netanyahu’s Annexation, Brexit, and the Doctrine of National Self-Harm

by Nir Arielli
June 22, 2020
Next Post
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

What Iran Foreign Minister's Attempted Resignation Reveals About Today's Iranian Politics

Saudi arabia prince purge anti-corruption

US Citizens Among Eight Held in Saudi Crackdown: Activists

Recommended

Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
A supporter of nurses' strike and NHS holds a placard

UK Faces Fresh Mass Strikes as Wage Talks Derail

February 1, 2023
Israeli security forces in Jerusalem

Palestinian Gunman Kills 7 in East Jerusalem Synagogue Attack

January 30, 2023
The Doomsday Clock reads 100 seconds to midnight, a decision made by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, during an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 23, 2020

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closest Ever to Midnight

January 25, 2023
Police work near the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California

California Lunar New Year Mass Shooter Dead, Motive Unclear: Police

January 23, 2023
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Race on To Replace Ardern as New Zealand Prime Minister

January 20, 2023

Opinion

Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines

Eight Billion and Counting…

November 29, 2022
Mahsa Amini protests

Imagining a Free Iran

October 24, 2022
Vladimir Putin

How 18th Century International Law Clarifies the Situation in Ukraine

September 29, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Falling for Putin

September 15, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post