Ice cream, celebrity Instagrams and appeals to vote – feels like the third time
Some celebrities took to social media on Monday to post about the unprecedented third election, but many chose not to rock the vote so much as ignore it.
Among those who did acknowledge the day were actress/model Yuval Scharf, who posted a picture of herself on Instagram canoodling with her husband, musician Shlomi Shaban, next to the message, “Choose right #govote #forabettertomorrow#today.”
Actor Tsahi Halevi, who announced last year he and Arab-Israeli television host Lucy Aharish were married, posted a photo of himself on Instagram with his hand in the foreground with “peace” written in English, Hebrew and Arabic. In a long message, he was highly critical of the current leadership, and at the end urged Israelis: “Go out and vote for our future and our children’s future, and let’s return the word peace to the conversation.”
Aharish also posted an Instagram story urging her fans to get out and vote.
For some, of course, these frequent elections are good for business. Ben & Jerry’s Israel has been using the Israeli expression, “Third time, ice cream” – meaning the third time two people run into each other, they’ll buy each other ice cream – to promote a new ice cream flavor,
“One Sweet Vote,” using the slogan, “There’s a reason to vote,” a play on another Hebrew expression, in which the word “ta’am” can mean both taste or flavor and reason.
The flavor features vanilla and chocolate with chocolate peace signs and chunks of white chocolate and blondies. What exactly this has to do with the elections is not crystal clear – there are almost 30 parties competing so the political landscape here is anything but chocolate and vanilla. Still, no one is complaining about more ice cream, or the fact that Ben & Jerry’s was giving out a second scoop for free at their factory stores on Election Day.
Other than the ice cream industry, these elections are great news for comedians and satirists. The political satire show Eretz Nehederet (Wonderful Country), featured host Eyal Kitzis on the show’s Instagram account, urging Israelis to vote, take a selfie and send it to the show, which will add the photo to its Instagram story. Just like he did last time.
For some, the confluence of the elections and Super Tuesday US primaries gave inspiration. Israeli actress/producer Noa Tishby, who divides her time between Israel and the US, posted a photo of her son on Instagram with a US primary ballot. Writing in English and Hebrew, she said, “Whether you live in California or in Israel - GO VOTE !!!! ” wishing everyone success and saying, “Love and light.”
Barbra Streisand, thinking obviously of the California primary on Tuesday, posted a photo of sticker on Instagram, which said, “I VOTED” sticker in 13 languages, alas, not in Hebrew, along with the words, “Reminder: every one counts. One person, one vote. #SuperTuesday.”
But not everyone was so civic-minded on Monday. Actress/ model/pitch woman Rotem Sela, who famously criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the Nation-State Law last year, posted a photo from Kenya – where she is shooting an ad campaign – with the words, “Blending in.”
Perhaps it’s not surprising that Sela finds herself abroad on the date of these elections. Channel 12 sent a reporter to Ben-Gurion Airport and found that although it was a little quieter than a regular day, tens of thousands of Israelis decided not to let the elections interfere with their travel plans.
Pop star Harel Skaat posted a photograph of himself voting on Instagram and encouraged his fans to vote.
So did television personality Assi Azar.
Lior Ashkenazi, one of Israel’s most acclaimed actors and a regular on Eretz Nehederet, posted a photo on Instagram of himself playing Blue and White leader Benny Gantz riding a horse in an Election Day edition of the show.