A debate is important, but
Over the course of the current elections campaign, the media has exerted a lot of pressure on the various party leaders to take part in debates. So far the pressure has failed to yield the desired objective: a televised debate between the heads of the main parties -- Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog. But tonight there will be a dry run when the heads of eight smaller parties debate each other on Channel 2. As expected, the network has tasked news anchorwoman Yonit Levy with moderating, and rightfully so -- she is knowledgeable and a consummate professional.
I had the privilege of moderating a debate between prime ministerial candidates Shimon Peres and Netanyahu some 19 years ago. If I were asked how Levy should approach the task at hand, I would propose abiding by the same conservative guidelines that were used back then.
Back then, Likud representative Limor Livnat and Labor representative Haim Ramon met to discuss the terms, and I was like a fly on the wall. They worked out every last detail; all but the actual questions, which were written by me and seen by no one until the taping. They agreed on who would be permitted to present additional questions, when the sides would be given leeway to tease each other a little, and most importantly, how long each candidate would be given to answer each question.
In this fashion, two important things were ensured, thus distinguishing this debate from any other televised panel discussion: that each candidate would be given the opportunity to answer uninterrupted, but wouldn't be allowed to run on. Every deviation from the allotted time frame was swiftly cut off with a stinging gong sound.
Ostensibly, under these guidelines, the debate would end up being slower paced and perhaps too boring for the impatient Israeli viewers, so accustomed to shrill cock fights on current affairs programs. In 1996, I asked Peres if he didn't think that he was too old to take on the role of prime minister, and he had to answer within the time allotted. The same was true for Netanyahu when I asked about an alleged sex tape scandal. Such a debate, with its conservative and unique guidelines, is particularly well suited for a debate between two major parties. It is the closest format to that of the televised debates held in the U.S., which has been emulated across the democratic world.
In Israeli elections, debates are seldom held, but such debates would improve the quality of our political process. In a debate, a candidate asked about X cannot give an answer about Y, and vice versa. But the media has put too much emphasis on the importance of these debates. After all, the benefit of a debate would be like a drop in the bucket amid all the bells and whistles of the 2015 elections.
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