Lesson 140: Talking About Politics
Politics is a national sport in Israel, and following a conversation about it needs a specific vocabulary — parties, elections, policy — plus the careful phrasing of an opinion you can stand behind.
Before the elections
לְמִי אַתָּה מַצְבִּיעַ בַּבְּחִירוֹת?
lemi ata matsbia babechirot?
Who are you voting for in the elections?
עוֹד לֹא הֶחְלַטְתִּי. הַמִּפְלָגוֹת דּוֹמוֹת מִדַּי.
od lo hechlateti. hamiflagot domot miday.
I haven’t decided yet. The parties are too similar.
אֲנִי חוֹשֵׁב שֶׁצָּרִיךְ שִׁנּוּי בַּמְּדִינִיּוּת הַכַּלְכָּלִית.
ani choshev shetsarich shinui bamediniyut hakalkalit.
I think there needs to be a change in economic policy.
יִתָּכֵן, אֲבָל פּוֹלִיטִיקָה תָּמִיד מְסֻבֶּכֶת.
yitachen, aval politika tamid mesubechet.
Possibly, but politics is always complicated.
Register: discussing politics carefully
The institutional vocabulary is fixed and worth knowing exactly:
| Hebrew | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| בְּחִירוֹת | bechirot | elections |
| מִפְלָגָה | miflaga | (political) party |
| כְּנֶסֶת | knesset | the Knesset (parliament) |
| מְדִינִיּוּת | mediniyut | policy |
The verb “to vote” is לְהַצְבִּיעַ (lehatsbia) + לְ־ for whom. To keep an opinion measured, hedge with יִתָּכֵן (yitachen, “it’s possible”) or אֲנִי חוֹשֵׁב שֶׁ… rather than flat assertion — useful in a charged conversation.
Tip: קוֹאָלִיצְיָה (koalitsya) and אוֹפּוֹזִיצְיָה (opozitsya) are borrowed whole, but מֶמְשָׁלָה (memshala, “government”) is native — note which terms Hebrew kept and which it imported.
Vocabulary
Institutions
| בְּחִירוֹת | bechirot | elections |
| מִפְלָגָה | miflaga | political party |
| כְּנֶסֶת | knesset | the Knesset |
| מֶמְשָׁלָה | memshala | government |
Acting & arguing
| לְהַצְבִּיעַ | lehatsbia | to vote |
| מְדִינִיּוּת | mediniyut | policy |
| יִתָּכֵן | yitachen | it’s possible, perhaps |
| מְסֻבָּךְ | mesubach | complicated |