The guide for the politically perplexed

If you, dear reader, like so many out there, are blinded by the bewildering array of parties, personalities and issues at play in this Israeli election season, have no fear! A new online political test promises to analyze your positions and output the most precious answer of all: whom to vote for on January 22.

The 2013 Israeli Election Compass, a project of the Israel Democracy Institute, asks users to mark their agreement or disagreement to a series of 30 statements relating to the major issues affecting Israel, as well as to rate the heads of the parties who stand to be elected to the next Knesset, for likability and competence.

The results are then processed to display an X-Y graph showing the user’s position relative to the positions of the parties in play. Even if you don’t match up exactly with a particular party, the program’s display allows you to easily see the parties that are closest to your views.

The Election Compass is available in Hebrew, Arabic and English.

However, doubts remain as to the accuracy of such services, as evidenced by informal testing of the Election Compass in The Times of Israel newsroom, which produced multiple results of “Huh? I’m not voting for them!”

Please tell us in the comments: Which parties did the Election Compass say you should vote for? Do the results accurately reflect your political opinions?