With less than a month until polls open, all eyes in Israel and, to a large extent, the Jewish world are already on the upcoming Israeli elections. However, the Israeli political system can be quite difficult to understand as an outsider. Unlike in the United States, where we have two main political parties contending in elections, each of which functions as a “big tent,” with a variety of viewpoints within one party, Israeli parties often cater to very specific niches of society, which results in a much greater number of political parties in the system. Anywhere from 11 to 13 parties could easily win seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, according to current polls.
In Israel, elections work very differently to America. The Prime Minister is not voted for directly by the people like the American president. Instead, citizens vote for a political party. Each party has a list of candidates that it is running to be members of the Knesset, with the party’s leader occupying the first spot on the list. Seats are allocated to parties that receive at least 3.25% of the vote, with seats being granted in proportion to the percentage of the national vote that a party receives. There are 120 seats in the Knesset, so a party that receives 10% of the vote would get 12 seats.
Because of the political fragmentation in Israel, one party alone cannot realistically achieve a governing majority of at least 61 seats. Instead, parties must form coalitions to establish a government.
In this article, I will outline the various parties that are in true contention for seats in the next Knesset after Israel votes on Oct. 27, their political positions, their leaders, and their history. While there are other parties in contention, none outside this list are polling close to or above the electoral threshold of 3.25%. The parties will be listed in approximate order of how many seats they are projected to receive in the polls.
First, the Likud, Hebrew for “the Conglomeration,” dating to its roots as a merger of several parties in the 1970s. The Likud is led by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Historically, it has been a more moderate, center-right party, long led by Menachem Begin, a former prime minister. However, as Netanyahu, long-time Likud leader and Prime Minister from 1996-1999, 2009-2021, and 2022-present, has become an increasingly polarizing figure in Israel, the party has grown increasingly right-wing and essentially seeks to allow Netanyahu to continue to rule for as long as possible. Since he was accused and charged of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, many figures in Israeli politics have ruled out entering a coalition government with him, resulting in a protracted period of political instability in Israel from 2019 to the present. The current Israeli government coalition is led by Netanyahu, with the Likud as its largest party. The current government is viewed as highly religious and very nationalistic, as will be made clear in the descriptions of other coalition parties. Netanyahu’s willingness to work with ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties, and his association with the failures of Oct. 7, along with other factors, have further estranged him from many Israeli voters. Still, a large constituency of voters remain steadfast in their support for the “Bibi,” as he is nicknamed. This is reflected in the polls, where the Likud is currently polling between 18 and 21 seats.
Next is upstart party Yashar!, Hebrew for straight, or upright, emphasizing no-nonsense leadership without corruption. The party is led by former Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, whose roots are in the peripheral cities of Eilat and Tiberias, and who could be Israel’s first non-Ashkenazi Jewish Prime Minister. Eisenkot is known to be relatively uncharismatic, but that, along with his unique background, paradoxically makes him appealing to many Israelis who find American-style campaigning to be inauthentic. Eisenkot was formerly a member of Benny Gantz’s Blue and White alliance, but left the fledgling party, which is no longer expected to win any seats, to form his new movement. Eisenkot was also a minister in Israel’s brief wartime unity government after the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7. Eisenkot is seen by many as strong on security and humble, and has been underestimated throughout his career in politics and the military. Yashar’s party list features a wide variety of candidates, from secular social activists to religious political figures. It occupies the center of the political spectrum in Israel, opposing extremist elements within Israeli society but not supporting any sort of two-state peace agreement with the Palestinians in the near future. It focuses primarily on security, like most parties, but also seeks to reduce the cost of living in Israel, and to improve education, along with other domestic issues. Yashar! is currently polling around 21-23 seats.
Also in opposition to the current government, there is the new alliance BeYachad, literally “Together,” co-led by former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. Bennett comes from a staunch right-wing background, and was once the head of the council of settlers in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria. He was also Israel’s first kippah-wearing Prime Minister. Lapid comes from a lineage of secular, center-left politics, passed down from his father Tommy, and once hosted a leading news program on Israeli TV. Despite their seemingly massive differences, they have long been partners, dating back to their involvement in Netanyahu’s coalition that was formed after the 2013 election. The two also headed Israel’s short-lived “change” government from 2021 to 2022, where both served briefly as Prime Minister. The alliance was formed from a merger of Bennett’s personal campaign and Lapid’s existing Yesh Atid party. The party portrays itself as highly pragmatic, and has already published a large amount of proposed legislation and policy through which it seeks to bring reform to many areas of Israel, from the environment, to healthcare, to tourism, and, above all to ensure that Haredi, ultra-Orthodox Jews, draft into the army alongside their fellow citizens. BeYachad is currently polling between 10 and 14 seats.
On the furthest left side of Israeli Jewish politics, there are HaDemokratim, the Democrats, led by Yair Golan, former Deputy Chief of Staff of the IDF, widely regarded for his heroic actions on Oct. 7. Golan unified the two parties of the Israeli left, Meretz, “Vigor,” and HaAvoda, the Labor Party, after being elected as leader of Labor and previously acting as a major figure within Meretz. The party supports various left-wing positions, from legalizing same-sex marriage within Israel (currently Israel only recognizes same-sex marriages performed abroad), to supporting an eventual two-state solution with the Palestinians. They are fiery in their criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu and his leadership and perceived failure on Oct. 7. They are currently polling between eight and 11 seats.
Also within the opposition faction, there is the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu, meaning “Israel is Our Home,” which was formerly known as a party primarily for immigrants from the former Soviet Union, like its leader, Avigdor Lieberman, who comes from Moldova. However, as these immigrants increasingly integrated into Israeli society, the party has transitioned into a party that champions secular values, which many post-Soviet immigrants identify with, opposition to Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, and strongly right-wing positions on a variety of security matters. The party has joined both the extremist faction of Itamar Ben Gvir in supporting a death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of terror offenses and factions like Yair Golan’s leftist Democrats and Arab parties like Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am, in uneasy political partnerships. They currently stand around seven to 10 seats.
Next, there is the Shas party, an abbreviation for “Sephardic Torah Observers,” which combines advocacy for ultra-Orthodox causes, such as large allocations for daycares, Yeshivas, and other subsidies, and continued draft exemptions for Haredi men, with populist outreach to traditional and religious, but not Haredi Jews, who claim Sephardic or Mizrahi (“Eastern”) origin. The party typically aligns with Netanyahu in coalition negotiations, and its leader, Aryeh Deri, who has been involved in corruption scandals of his own, is a longtime partner of Netanyahu. The party is currently projected to receive seven to nine seats in opinion polls.
In a similar vein, there is the Yahadut HaTorah alliance, known in English as United Torah Judaism, which represents a combination of two Ashkenazi Jewish Haredi factions, the Degel HaTorah, “Banner of the Torah,” group, which is comprised of the so-called Lithuanian or Mitnagdim, “Opponents” (to the Hasidic tradition), and the Hasidic Agudat Yisrael, “The Union of Israel” faction. Despite their religious differences, the two groups run together in elections, and, like Shas, support continued subsidies and draft exemptions, and typically serve in Netanyahu-led governments. They are currently polling at seven or eight seats.
In stark contrast to the Haredi parties just mentioned, HaReshimat HaMeshutefet, the Joint List, seeks to represent the interests of Israeli Arabs. It is comprised of several factions. The alliance is currently led by Yousef Jabareen, the head of Hadash, officially the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, Israel’s Communist party, which has some Jewish members and one Jewish member of the Knesset, but is mostly supported by Arabs. It has been strongly opposed to Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and supports a two-state solution. Ta’al, the Arab Movement for Renewal, is led by Ahmed Tibi and is a secular, Arab nationalist party. Balad, Homeland in Arabic, and short for the National Democratic Alliance in Hebrew, is the most controversial faction. Former leadership has had direct ties to Hezbollah, and the current leader recently dropped his candidacy for the Knesset after it became clear that the Supreme Court of Israel would otherwise disqualify him for statements he made that are widely viewed as supportive of Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7. The faction is strongly nationalist and anti-Zionist, and effectively supports a binational state in the land. The Joint List as a whole is currently polling at seven or eight seats, and votes for them are largely seen as a protest, as they have never served in a government and are highly toxic for the vast majority of Jewish Israelis.
Next is the polar opposite of the Joint List, Otzma Yehudit, or “Jewish Power,” led by right-wing firebrand Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s current National Security Minister. The party has its roots in the radical Kach movement of Rabbi Meir Kahane, which was declared a terrorist group by both Israel and the United States. Until recently, Ben Gvir had a picture of Jewish Kahanist terrorist Baruch Goldstein hanging in his living room, and he was infamously interviewed on TV while holding up the hood ornament from Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s car shortly before he was assassinated in 1995 after leaving a peace rally by a Kahanist extremist. Ben Gvir stated that “We got to his car, and we’ll get to him too,” referring to Rabin. His party advocates for the annexation of the West Bank/Judea and Samaria and expanded settlements there, and is rather open about its Kahanist roots and racist views towards Arabs. They are currently polling around six to nine seats.
In a similar vein, there is the alliance between the Religious Zionist Party, HaTzionut HaDatit, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and the Zehut, “Identity,” faction of right-wing politician Moshe Feiglin. The party represents a similar demographic to Ben Gvir’s faction, the so-called “National Religious” camp, but portrays itself as a more pragmatic, less extremist alternative. Feiglin’s faction is characterized by libertarian policies, and the alliance seeks annexation and expanded settlement. It currently stands at between five and seven projected seats.
In the realm of Arab politics, there is also the Ra’am party, an acronym for the United Arab List. The party has historically been known as Islamist and sought to represent Israel’s conservative Bedouin Arab community, which largely resides in the Southern desert region. However, under the leadership of Mansour Abbas, a dentist by trade, the party has become significantly more pragmatic and open to collaboration with Zionist parties to secure better outcomes for its voters, many of whom struggle with poverty, lack of infrastructure, government demolition of unauthorized buildings, and gang violence. It famously took part in the “change” government formed by Bennett in 2021, and this year it has a Jewish Israeli former police officer named Yoav Segalovitz as the second candidate on its list, in an effort to draw in support from Jewish Israelis and strengthen its record on fighting crime. While fellow opposition leaders are seemingly currently ruling out collaborating with the party, as many did before the 2021 elections, they could very possibly be a factor in the next government. Most polls project them winning five or six seats.
Beyond these parties, all of which are expected to clear the electoral threshold, there are also two smaller parties that are currently hovering around that mark in the polls, and have the potential to win four seats (the effective minimum), or none at all.
One of these parties is the alliance between Yoaz Hendel’s HaMiliumnikim, “The Reservists” movement, which supports the interests of IDF reserve soldiers, and the New Economic Party, led by economist Yaron Zelekha which advocates fighting against oligarchies and monopolies and supports a variety of unique economic policies. It supports a unity government between Zionist parties. The other is the Amcha Yisrael, “Your Nation, Israel” party, led by former IDF general Ofer Winter alongside Arab Israeli right-wing activist Yoseph Haddad, who is an Arab Christian. The party has stated that it will only support a right-wing government, but it is currently giving Netanyahu a headache because of the possibility that, if it does not cross the electoral threshold, it could “waste” hundreds of thousands of right-wing votes, and that if it does, he will have to further divvy up coalition roles to a multitude of parties in the event that he is able to form a government after the elections.
These elections are shaping up to be highly consequential for Israel’s future, but given current polling data, it seems highly unlikely that either the opposition bloc of Yashar!, BeYachad, HaDemokratim, Yisrael Beiteinu, and potentially Ra’am, nor the current coalition of Likud, Shas, Yahadut HaTorah, Otzma Yehudit, HaTzionut HaDatit/Zehut, and potentially Amcha Yisrael, will be able to form a stable majority of at least 61 seats on their own. If neither camp succeeds in forming a government, Israel could see a unity government, as some desire, or, far more likely, another round of elections in the near future. For such an important race, so much still remains up in the air, even less than three weeks before polling places open.
