Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Hatikva Market in Tel Aviv as part of the Likud party’s election campaign, October 22, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

50 shades of right: An Israeli election primer

While Netanyahu’s bloc adds more extremists to its ranks, his opponents are impeding their own path to power by refusing to work with Arab parties.
By Ben Reiff
Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh, surrounded by MK Ahmad Tibi and Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem for a hearing on the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify candidates and parties from running in the upcoming Knesset elections, October 1, 2026. (Oren Ziv)

Israel’s election won’t change the renewed reality of political apartheid

Abu Shehadeh’s disqualification sends a clear message: Jewish-majority state institutions now determine who represents Palestinian citizens.
By Areej Sabbagh-Khoury
Election campaign billboards featuring Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot and Likud party chairman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside opposition leaders, displayed on a road in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, October 17, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)

Eisenkot is trying to outflank Netanyahu on the right. It’s a failed strategy

The more hawkish the opposition leader is, the harder it is to explain what alternative he offers — and he’s not the first to make that mistake.
By Amos Brison
Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich tours the Mahane Yehuda Market as part of the party’s election campaign, in Jerusalem, October 9, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Why Smotrich still defines the horizon of Israeli politics

Israeli liberals have acceded to the maximalist vision of the MK's 2017 ‘Decisive Plan’ — while claiming to oppose ‘messianic’ violence.
By Avi-ram Tzoreff
Leena Dallasheh (courtesy)
PODCAST

What’s at stake for Palestinian citizens in Israel’s election?

Leena Dallasheh discusses the echoes of military rule in today’s crackdown on Palestinian dissent, and the struggle for a more substantive form of citizenship.
By +972 Magazine
Latest
Benjamin Netanyahu gives a victory speech on election night, March 18, 2015. (Photo: +972 Magazine)
The one thing that could have defeated Netanyahu — hope
There was a sense of misplaced joy on some parts of the Israeli Left as Netanyahu’s carefully crafted messaging began to unravel in the days leading up to elections. Finally, the world would see his true colors. But the same thing that keeps Netanyahu in power is the same thing that perpetuates the occupation: lack…
By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man March 18, 2015
Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh seen on election night, Nazareth, Israel, March 17, 2015. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Spitting in the face of Israel’s Arab citizens
The success of the Joint List is the Arab public’s message — an outstretched hand — to its Jewish compatriots, which is the antithesis of the message it received in return. By Haggai Matar and Yael Marom Nearly one quarter of Israeli voters cast their ballots for a prime minister whose central message to the public on election…
By Haggai Matar March 18, 2015
Zionist Camp supporters listen to exit poll results, Tel Aviv, March 17, 2015. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Zionist Camp celebration foiled by election results
The election tie between Likud and Herzog’s Zionist Camp came as a shock to supporters who had gathered in Tel Aviv. Almost defiantly, they followed what became the night’s mantra: Nothing is decided yet. We haven’t lost. By Angela Gruber First, there was a party. When the results of the exit polls kept rolling in,…
By +972 Magazine March 18, 2015
Benjamin Netanyahu gives a victory speech on election night, March 18, 2015. (Photo: +972 Magazine)
What now, Bibi? — Early election takeaways
Netanyahu picked a fight with a sitting U.S. president and declared there will never be a Palestinian State. It might have helped him squeeze out another election victory, but where is Israel heading? The Likud and Labor (The Zionist Camp) are tied with 27 seats, but Benjamin Netanyahu has way more paths to bring together…
By Noam Sheizaf March 18, 2015
Benjamin Netanyahu gives a victory speech on election night, March 18, 2015. (Photo: +972 Magazine)
[Updated] Netanyahu soars ahead of Zionist Camp
Netanyahu has best chances to form a government but President Rivlin says will work for a unity government. (Updated below with 90% of votes counted.) Update (4:30 a.m. local, 10 p.m. EST): The following is the expected distribution of seats with over 90 percent of votes counted as calculated by Nehamia Gershuni, who runs independent polling…
By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man March 17, 2015
A home demolition in East Jerusalem. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
The occupation doesn’t take a day off for elections in E. J’lem
On election day, Palestinians in East Jerusalem aren’t worrying about who will be the next prime minister — they are too busy trying to protect their homes. I decided to start my day, Election Day, at the Western Wall. With all due respect to the ballot box, the Wall is the real thing when it…
By Orly Noy March 17, 2015
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington D.C., March 2, 2015. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
The next time Netanyahu talks about ‘common values’
Hours after disavowing the two-state solution, the Israeli prime minister makes clear that his version of democracy includes as few Arabs as possible. A few hours after the polls opened in Israeli elections on Tuesday, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a message that offends the very spirit of democracy and equality. Invoking military terminology,…
By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man March 17, 2015
A Palestinian citizen of Israel votes in the 2015 elections, March 17, 2015 Ramle, Israel. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
A glimmer of hope in Israeli elections
Three months ago, I would have told you that the Right will sweep the elections. But this election cycle has shown that people are looking for an alternative, and that the Left still has a lot of work to do. Regardless of the results of Tuesday’s election, these last few months have signaled a positive…
By Haggai Matar March 17, 2015
Protest against a Jewish Arab Wedding, Rishon Letzion, Israel, August 17, 2014. (Activestills.org)
Jewish nationalism and the new Palestinian politics in Israel
Although the occupation has been absent in these elections, nationalism has permeated the campaigns. The violence of 2014 and the Gaza war were a transformative moment for Palestinian citizens of Israel and the realization of their political power.
By Dimi Reider March 17, 2015
Naftali Bennett in his 'Tel Aviv hipster' campaign ad. (Screenshot)
How the ‘selfie campaign’ failed Israeli voters
Digital media has dictated the agenda of this election campaign. The parties flooded the web with funny videos, hoping to go viral. Media strategists know how to make their audience laugh, but they failed to establish a meaningful discourse with the electorate. By Angela Gruber Noy Alooshe is a sought-after man these days. His Youtube…
By +972 Magazine March 17, 2015
Most Read
  1. 50 shades of right: An Israeli election primer
  2. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza
  3. Israel's election won't change the renewed reality of political apartheid
  4. Jewish Israelis must do more than stand together with Palestinians
  5. Eisenkot is trying to outflank Netanyahu on the right. It’s a failed strategy
  1. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza
  2. Days away from Israeli elections, a ‘sour mood’ pervades the Haredi street
  3. ‘We’ve paid the price for war. We haven’t yet reaped the fruits of peace’
  4. Jewish Israelis must do more than stand together with Palestinians
  5. Israel’s far right has unprecedented power. Why isn’t it satisfied?
  1. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza
  2. Why ‘NAZA’ terrifies Israel's liberal elite
  3. Debunking Israel’s latest list of ‘terrorist’ journalists in Gaza
  4. ‘The Gaza Holocaust won't be forgotten’: An Israeli musician screams into the void
  5. ‘NAZA’ is forcing Israelis to reflect. But we Palestinians are not your mirror