Yossi Barash, 94, has never missed a single Election Day in his entire life, meaning he took part in every single election since the establishment of the State of Israel.
“I always voted, in rain, storms and intense heat, I always arrived at the polling station where I lived,” Barash told Ynet.
Barash was born in Tel Aviv in 1927, and in 1928, his family moved to the northern community of Kfar Yehoshua, where he resides to this day. Barash has two children, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
“When I turned out to vote for the first time, I wasn’t excited, but worried about the future of the state,” Barsh said. “The situation was scary then, we were a small country with less than a million residents surrounded by much larger Arab states. I was too worried to get excited,” he said.
Although many Israelis consider Election Day a regular day off and use it to unwind at the beach or at the mall, Barash is determined to keep on voting as long as he can.
“I never prioritized my vacation plans over voting. It was always important to me to cast my vote at the ballot box.”
Barash also lamented the protracted political gridlock the country has been thrust into over the past several years.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re going to begin the fifth election in three years. People I talk to will vote; who they vote for isn’t important, but they’ll still vote. My grandchildren will vote because they know how important it is. We must vote, it’s the most important civic duty.”
Barash shared about who he will be supporting this year. “I’ve voted for the Labor party for as long as I can remember, even when it was still Mapai. I kept voting for it, and today I vote for the Labor party because I believe in its path and ideology. I’m saddened by the fact it became such a small party today.”