Israeli Politics

Israel election: What is Netanyahu’s Likud offering voters in his bid to stay in power?

Great powerhouse of the right is struggling in the polls – but in Israeli politics you write off the prime minister and his party at your peril

By John Jeffay

4 min read

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets US Vice President JD Vance at the Prime Minister's Office on October 22, 2025 (Getty Images)

Yaakov Asher MK speaks with Aryeh Deri MK during a Knesset vote on Charedi conscription on July 14, 2026 (Flash90)

Israeli elections

Israel election: Who are the Charedi parties and what do they stand for?

By John Jeffay

4 min read

Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett stand together at the inaugural conference of Beyachad in Tel Aviv on May 12, 2026 (Getty Images)

Israeli elections

Israel election: What does Bennett and Lapid’s Beyachad stand for?

By John Jeffay

4 min read

Yair Golan addresses Israeli anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv on November 8, 2025 (Getty Images)

Israeli elections

Israel election: Can the Democrats revive the fortunes of the Zionist Left?

By John Jeffay

4 min read

Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas MK attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset on July 8, 2026 (Flash90)

Israeli elections

Israeli Supreme Court overturns decision to disqualify Arab parties from Knesset elections

By JC Reporter

1 min read

Rabbi Dov Lando attends a wedding in Bnei Brak, January 15, 2026 (Flash90)

Israel

Charedi party’s spiritual leader claims Zionism ‘made Arabs hate us’ in resurfaced video

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

Yair Golan, party leader of The Democrats, during the party's election launch on July 20, 2026 (Getty Images)

By Ashley Perry

Yair Golan: The hero general who became the standard-bearer of Israel’s diminished left

4 min read

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By Ashley Perry

Avigdor Liberman: Israel’s ultimate political outsider – too secular for the religious right, too hawkish for the centre-left

The immigrant from Moldova who once carried suitcases at the airport does not fit comfortably into either political camp, which could make him a kingmaker after the elections

4 min read

October 5, 2026 14:44

Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, during a press briefing on March 20, 2023 (Getty Images)

By Ashley Perry

Gadi Eisenkot: The general who became Netanyahu’s principal challenger

Ahead of the elections, he is the strongest new force in Israeli politics. Whether he becomes the third former chief of staff to serve as prime minister will depend upon his ability to preserve a broad but potentially fragile coalition of voters

4 min read

October 5, 2026 14:33

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party attends a press briefing on August 12, 2026 (Getty Images)

By Ashley Perry

Naftali Bennett: From political outsider to prime minister and back again

The coming election will determine whether his time at the helm of the Israeli government was an exceptional product of parliamentary arithmetic or the beginning of a longer claim to national leadership

4 min read

October 5, 2026 14:28

Naftali Bennett attends the Herzliya conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya on July 1, 2026 (Flash90)

By Ashley Perry

Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel’s longest-serving prime minister faces the fight of his political life

The October 27 election may determine whether he leaves office as the statesman who reshaped the economy and regional ties, or as the leader whose tenure became synonymous with the country’s gravest security failure and deepening divisions

3 min read

October 5, 2026 14:22

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a press briefing on June 15, 2026 (Getty Images)

JC poll tracker: Who is on course to win the 2026 Israeli elections?

The latest polls suggest a tight race between Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot for control of the next government

By Jacob Jaffa

2 min read

October 5, 2026 08:00

JC poll tracker: Who is on course to win the 2026 Israeli elections?

Israel election: Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party in a nutshell – and could it actually topple Netanyahu?

Formed in 2025 and led by former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, Yashar is trying to stake a claim on the centre ground between Likud to the right and the Democrats to the left

By John Jeffay

4 min read

October 4, 2026 10:05

Gadi Eizenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, hopes to topple Benjamin Netanyahu with his Yashar party (Photo: Getty Images)

Balad leader abandons Knesset campaign to avoid High Court disqualification

The court is yet to rule on the Central Elections Committee’s decision to ban all the Arab-Israeli parties from running

By Hayley Cregor

1 min read

October 2, 2026 09:38

Balad chairman and Joint List member Sami Abu Shehadeh arrives at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on October 1, 2026, for a hearing on the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify him from running in the upcoming Knesset elections (Flash90)

How does Israeli election voting work – and when will we know the winner?

The proportional representation system can be confusing for outsiders and may lead to protracted horse-trading that could go on for weeks

By John Jeffay

3 min read

October 1, 2026 08:00

An Israeli woman casts her vote in Har Homa as her children join her during Israel's general elections on November 1, 2022 (Getty Images)

Israeli election authorities ban all Arab parties from running in upcoming Knesset poll

The move, decided by a committee of political representatives, is likely to be challenged in the courts

By Jacob Jaffa

1 min read

September 24, 2026 10:11

Members of the Central Elections Committee during a hearing on September 23, 2026, on the request to disqualify Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh from the upcoming Knesset elections (Flash90)

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Israeli Politics

Israel election: What is Netanyahu’s Likud offering voters in his bid to stay in power?

Israel election: Who are the Charedi parties and what do they stand for?

Israel election: What does Bennett and Lapid’s Beyachad stand for?

Israel election: Can the Democrats revive the fortunes of the Zionist Left?

Israeli Supreme Court overturns decision to disqualify Arab parties from Knesset elections

Charedi party’s spiritual leader claims Zionism ‘made Arabs hate us’ in resurfaced video

Yair Golan: The hero general who became the standard-bearer of Israel’s diminished left

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Avigdor Liberman: Israel’s ultimate political outsider – too secular for the religious right, too hawkish for the centre-left

Gadi Eisenkot: The general who became Netanyahu’s principal challenger

Naftali Bennett: From political outsider to prime minister and back again

Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel’s longest-serving prime minister faces the fight of his political life

JC poll tracker: Who is on course to win the 2026 Israeli elections?

Israel election: Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party in a nutshell – and could it actually topple Netanyahu?

Balad leader abandons Knesset campaign to avoid High Court disqualification

How does Israeli election voting work – and when will we know the winner?

Israeli election authorities ban all Arab parties from running in upcoming Knesset poll