Wikipedia Project Prepares Biographies of Potential Israeli Lawmakers

A Wikipedia initiative is creating draft biographies of potential Israeli politicians before elections, aiming to provide the public with timely information about newly elected officials. The project, "Potential Public Representatives," was launched by Amihai Bena'at, an educator and Wikipedia enthusiast, who noticed the public's immediate need for information on incoming Knesset members after each election.

Bena'at, who has been involved in various Wikipedia projects since 2006, started this initiative in 2009. He recognized that much of the necessary information about candidates is publicly available through party flyers and media reports prior to elections. By compiling this data into draft articles, the project ensures that if a candidate is elected, their Wikipedia page can be quickly completed and published.

The project relies on diverse sources, including media reports, party publications, and candidate-provided resumes. Bena'at also directly contacts candidates for information and photos. While draft articles are created for many candidates, only those who are actually elected to the Knesset or a local authority leadership position automatically become full Wikipedia entries due to their established notability. However, some drafts remain archived, and occasionally, a candidate who was not initially elected may gain public significance later, as was the case with Yehuda Glick, who had a draft prepared before an assassination attempt and subsequent election to the Knesset.

To date, the project has produced over 229 articles, including 150 on Knesset members, 59 on local authority leaders, and 20 on non-elected candidates who met Wikipedia's notability criteria for other reasons. The initiative currently includes over fifty drafts for candidates in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections, anticipating a significant number of new lawmakers. The project also addresses the issue of politicians entering the Knesset mid-term due to resignations, particularly with the "Norwegian Law" allowing ministers to leave the Knesset.

Bena'at emphasizes that Wikipedia's role is to reflect reality, not create it, and the community has strict rules to prevent the encyclopedia from being used for political campaigning. Articles on candidates whose notability is not already established are typically moved to draft status and removed from mainspace in the three months leading up to an election. He stresses that a Wikipedia article does not belong to the subject and may include unflattering information. The project balances the need to inform the public about their representatives with the principle of not using Wikipedia as a tool for candidates to build their public standing.