ABSTRACT

An "American" election campaign conducted on personal tracks and blurring differences in values among the parties and political camps could be doing the public a disservice by diverting its attention from the task of decision among the various alternatives. Once the date of elections is determined, the parties organize and recruit a kind of mercenary reserve to handle their campaigns. The campaign began in the shadow of corruption rumors and evasion of blame. When the world economic crisis struck Israel, discussions focused on the potential candidates' respective abilities to form a coalition that would respond effectively. Involvement of the new media in politics and election campaigns has been researched extensively. Cellular telephony networks resemble the Internet in that they enable inexpensive and rapid interpersonal communication, but are used more extensively than the Internet among all population strata and have obstacles to entry that are less daunting, considering their typical low price and ease of use.