'GREEN LEAF' ON A ROLL

The mainstream pollsters aren't saying it, but Boaz Wachtel of the Green
Leaf Party ("Aleh Yarok") believes that he will serve as a member of the
next Knesset.

"I think we're going to be the surprise of these elections," he told The
Jerusalem Post Sunday.

According to party treasurer Shai Hakim, a Green Leaf-commissioned Gal
Hadash (formerly Gallop) poll predicts 2.5 percent of the electorate voting
for the party on January 28, with another 4% still undecided. "We wonder
whether Mina Tzemah even asks about Green Leaf," he said.

Unscientific straw polls are meanwhile producing even more startling
results the party invariably registers at least 3% and received 8% in a
poll conducted by a Kfar Saba local newspaper last week.

Aleh Yarok, which promotes drug legalization, came close to producing the
shock of the last Knesset elections, mustering 34,029 votes representing
just over 1% of the electorate only 15,000 votes short of the 1.5%
threshold for Knesset membership.

The Green Leaf Party's 15-member leadership met Sunday night to set its
Knesset list, with founder Wachtel assigned the top slot.

Dan Goldenblatt, an attorney originally from Canada, was considered a
favorite for the No. 2 slot, and Renen Mosenson for third.

The party is to unveil its campaign on Tuesday at a Tel Aviv nightclub.

Party spokesman Dror Nissan said the party is confident of winning the
"protest vote" and surpassing the electoral threshold. He said polls don't
reflect support for the party, as pollsters either ignore the party or
potential voters are afraid to reveal their voting plans on the phone.

Party leaders admit that they have to contend with a 'not serious' image:
One radio announcer quipped last week that arsonists had attacked the
party's headquarters and that neighbors reported a pleasant feeling.

"We view ourselves foremost as a public health and civil rights party with
three central platforms: civil rights and personal freedom, ecology, and
the legalization of cannabis," countered Wachtel. "A vote for us is far
more than a protest vote."

"I think the party has matured," said Hakim. "It's been through the
development stage, and now has its eyes firmly set on the Knesset. The
atmosphere has become far more serious and focused."

The party's headquarters, a sublet two-room office in Tel Aviv's Rehov
Brenner, was buzzing with activity yesterday.

"We're getting 50-60 e-mails a day from people who want to help and the
phones don't stop ringing," exclaimed Hakim. "Things are starting to move."

Volunteers man three telephone lines throughout the day. "We can't keep up.
We need four more lines, but Bezeq is demanding a NIS 5,000 guarantee per
line, probably because of their previous experience with political parties.
We simply don't have NIS 20,000."

The party's total election budget is a trifling NIS 150,000, said Hakim.
"That's why you don't see enormous billboards with our logo we simply can't
afford such luxuries.

"Our only income is from donations. We still haven't raised the sum, so
activists lent the party money from their own pockets. We are all volunteers."

n February, six party activists attended (at their own expense) a three-day
seminar in Berlin hosted by the German Greens dealing with the logistics of
running a political party.

"We learned how to conduct an effective elective campaign with minimal
resources. They helped us a lot by pointing out their mistakes," Hakim said.

Green Leaf's election campaign will be based on its activists, he
explained. "We have active branches from Eilat to Rosh Pina, including
university campuses. The stickers and fliers are ready, and the first batch
of rolled-up banners just arrived from the printers today. One guideline to
our activities will be litter prevention we're an ecological movement and
fully intend to remove all our garbage after the elections. See if the
other parties do that!"

Most of the volunteers are Israeli-born Jews with a background in some form
of social activism, said Hakim. "Green Leaf remains an anti-establishment
party. We want the people represented in the Knesset instead of rich
corporations and religious pressure groups," he said. The party intends to
emphasize issues other than drug legalization.

"Whoever reads our manifesto to our sorrow few voters ever do is always
impressed. It expresses a desire to change fundamental aspects of this
country. Ecology is strongly emphasized there is still time to undo
historical mistakes. Funds must be allocated to the periphery, to counter
the social gap. We call for separation of religion and state 75% of the
population believes in that and propose a referendum to finalize borders of
the country. It's time to let the people choose," he said.