Wednesday, October 28th 2026   |

Israel

Israeli election: Likud largest party, but no clear path to governing coalition, exit polls show

By JNS STAFF

(JNS.org) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party edged out Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar in Israel’s national election on Tuesday, according to exit polls published as voting closed at 10 p.m. local time. However, the incumbent did not immediately...

Netanyahu leads in exit polls, but Eisenkot’s change bloc has more seats

By RUTH EGLASH

(JTA) — JERUSALEM – Israel’s parliamentary election has ended with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party remaining the largest faction, even though it appears he will struggle to form a government, according to exit polls published as...

Highest turnout since 1973 as Israelis cast ballots to decide Netanyahu’s fate

By RUTH EGLASH

(JTA) — JERUSALEM – Israelis turned out to vote in high numbers Tuesday, with some 44.9% of the country’s 7 million eligible voters having cast their ballots by 2 p.m. in an election many are calling the most...

Democrats leader Golan approached by man with knife on election day

By MICHELE CHABIN

(JTA) — JERUSALEM —  Israel Police arrested a man carrying a large knife after he approached Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party, as Golan was campaigning in Tel Aviv on Election Day.

“Contrary to reports, no stabbing...

Polls show a deadlock, but betting markets strongly favor Eisenkot to replace Netanyahu

By TOMER ALMAGOR

(JTA) — Traders on the Kalshi and Polymarket prediction markets are betting that former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot will replace incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s next prime minister following Tuesday’s election.

That assessment comes...

Lula’s reelection puts the brakes on Latin America’s pro-Israel shift

By JUAN MELAMED

(JTA) — BUENOS AIRES – Brazilians reelected Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva as president, defeating the center-right senator Flavio Bolsonaro, putting the breaks on a regional shift toward closer ties with Israel.

The current president, a left-wing leader...

Israel’s global image is deteriorating. Why isn’t it a bigger issue in the election?

By RUTH EGLASH

(JTA) — JERUSALEM – Over the past few months, Israeli media has been full of reports of Israeli holidaymakers in Europe, Asia and the Americas being harassed or physically attacked after being identified as Israeli.

In July, a...

Who are the first-time voters who could sway Israel’s election?

By MICHELE CHABIN

(JTA) — JERUSALEM — On Oct. 27, Yael Chernyvsky, 18, from Ramat Hasharon in central Israel, plans to cast her ballot for the first time. 

“I’m voting so we can change the future of this country,” the...

Why both sides are ducking settler violence ahead of Israel’s elections

By TANI FRANK

(JTA) — For American Jews who follow Israel closely, one of the hardest things to understand about Israeli politics today is the gap between the severity of settler violence in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West...

The missing ‘peace’ in Israel’s election campaign

By RUTH EGLASH

(JTA) — JERUSALEM – There’s a short video clip that’s been circulating on Israeli social media channels in recent days showing a massive crowd of jubilant young Israelis at a music festival singing along on repeat to “The...