[EM] Introductory Message

[James Gilmour]

> >James Gilmour had written:
> >As you are also a citizen of Ireland, I am surprised you did not 
> >recognise the potential benefits of changing the Knesset voting system 
> >to STV-PR, as used in Ireland.  The only two changes from Dáil
> >Éireann I would suggest are larger electoral districts and 
> the use of the Northern Ireland STV counting rules.

James Green-Armytage commented:
> 	I will second this suggestion. STV seems like the right 
> way to do proportional representation. If you were married to 
> paper ballots, then you probably couldn't do the whole 
> Knesset in one district, so you might have to sacrifice some 
> proportionality. 

Even if it were possible to "do the the whole Knesset in one district", I would most strongly advise
against it.  The underlying problems with politics in Israel are exacerbated by the large number of
very small parties that gain seats in the Knesset.  A district magnitude of 120 (all the members)
would make this even worse than at present, when it is constrained (to a small extent) by the 1.5%
threshold.  Districts based on some "natural" communities within the national boundary would deal
with that without the need for an artificial threshold.  There is more to electing an effective
parliament than simply securing party PR.
James