Ok this is a little weird – Richard Gere urging Palestinians to get out the vote? Response is underwhelming – many voters don’t know who is is, or why he would be stepping on their turf. They aren’t even sure who else but Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) will run.

TV Appeal by Richard Gere Perplexes Palestinians: Gaza soap factory worker Manar an-Naja told Reuters: “‘We don’t need the Americans’ intervention. We know who to elect. Not like them — they elected a moron.’ “

Gere claims to be speaking “for the whole world” to say that we are with them during election time. He urges them in English and Arabic to get out and vote.

The ad was sponsored by Israeli-Palestinian peace lobby One Voice. I like Gere (my Dad claimed to have known his parents), and it’s a nice idea on the drawing board – but it needed a little more thinking through.