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
MK Ibrahim Zarzur (center) and MK Ahmad Tibi (photo: Yotam Ronen / activestills.org)
The Arab parties united? Great, now it’s time to get to work
After a great deal of work, the joint Arab election slate has finally come into fruition. But what does the list say about the place of women in Arab politics? Who proved himself to be the real leader of the group? And what can the Arab public do now? You know that joke about how…
By Samah Salaime January 24, 2015
Salah Diab, a leader of the popular struggle in Sheikh Jarrah, during a weekly protest in the neighborhood. (photo: Amir Bitan)
Popular struggle leader: Education is the best weapon against occupation
Salah Diab, one of the leaders of the struggle against expulsions of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, was released from prison after serving five months for a crime he says he didn’t commit. Now that he has returned to the neighborhood, he is as sure as ever: the future belongs to…
By Orly Noy January 24, 2015
A sign at the entrance of the unrecognized Bedouin village of Alsira warns of home demolitions. Villagers had the sign made. June 19, 2014. (Photo by Michael Omer-Man)
[VID] Street talk: What do you think about home demolitions?
Whenever there is a terrorist attack in Israel, somebody on the political level starts talking about demolishing the terrorist family’s home as punishment and deterrence. Social TV hit the streets of Tel Aviv and asked the public what they think, and put that against Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions chairman Jeff Halper. More on punitive…
By Social TV January 23, 2015
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress, May 24, 2011. (Photo by Avi Ohayun/GPO)
The ‘anti-Zionist’ camp goes mainstream in Israeli elections
Both Netanyahu and Livni are leveraging their international influence for electoral gain: Netanyahu in Congress and Livni at the United Nations. And, will the real Zionist camp please stand up? Elections are almost always referendums on the incumbent, and an incumbent always has an advantage against any challengers. One of those advantages is the ability…
By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man January 23, 2015
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli Air Force pilots' course graduation ceremony, June 26, 2014. (Photo by Haim Zach/GPO)
Israeli air strike in Syria: Lies, aggression — at what cost?
From close up, the assassination of a Hezbollah commander and an Iranian general was probably preemption. In the big picture, it was definitely aggression. During the Second Intifada, (late 2000-2004) Israel made a habit of carrying out “targeted assassinations” of Palestinian militant leaders. The Palestinians, in turn, had a predilection for blowing up buses and…
By Larry Derfner January 23, 2015
Members of newly announced "United List" of Arab parties in Israel ahead of March 17, 2015 election Photo: Courtesy Balad)
Arab parties announce joint slate for upcoming election
In a bid to remain relevant with an increased electoral threshold, the three Arab parties and Communist party Hadash are to run on one list in the March 17 elections. In an unprecedented, historic move, Israel’s Arab parties Hadash, Balad, Ta’al and Ra’am announced late Thursday night that they will run on a joint slate…
By Mairav Zonszein January 22, 2015
Palestinian laborers at the Sha’ar Ephraim checkpoint separating the West Bank and Israel, December 22, 2014. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Risking jobs, Palestinian workers in West Bank settlement unionize
When the Palestinian workers at a West Bank aluminum factory tried to unionize, the management responded with a resounding no. Nearly half of the 65 workers at the MS Aluminum Ltd. factory, located in the Israeli-run Mishor Adumim industrial zone in the West Bank, unionized last week after joining the Workers Advice Center (WAC-MAAN). According to…
By Haggai Matar January 22, 2015
Arab parties likely to announce historic joint election slate in coming days
Islamists, Marxists, women and Jews: The Arab parties have done the seemingly impossible and are likely announce a united election slate in the coming days. By Yael Marom and Nadav Frankovich Israel’s Arab parties are expected to announce the formation of a combined election slate in the lead-up to the upcoming elections. The slate, which…
By +972 Magazine January 22, 2015
The protesters were calling to close the prison and to recognize the refugee rights of the African asylum seekers living in Israel.
The importance of being earnest about human rights
In an open letter, one of Israel’s foremost refugee rights lawyers calls on the deputy attorney general to follow her conscience. By Asaf Weitzen Dear Deputy Attorney General Dina Silber: I am familiar with a bit of your academic work, including two books you authored and speeches that you give from time to time. You have…
By +972 Magazine January 22, 2015
Speaker Boehner holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Congressional leaders following his address to a joint meeting of Congress. May 24, 2011. (Speaker Boehner / CC-BY NY 2.0)
Ahead of close elections, Congress gives Bibi a prime-time appearance
The senator from Jerusalem will take all the help he can get these days. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) today invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on February 11. Coincidently, Netanyahu’s speech will take place a month and a half before the Israeli elections. According to most polls, Netanyahu…
By Noam Sheizaf January 21, 2015
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  2. 50 shades of right: An Israeli election primer
  3. Eisenkot is trying to outflank Netanyahu on the right. It’s a failed strategy
  4. Israel's election won't change the renewed reality of political apartheid
  5. Jewish Israelis must do more than stand together with Palestinians
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  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
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  2. Why ‘NAZA’ terrifies Israel's liberal elite
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