Originally published in CBN
Next Tuesday, Israeli voters will cast ballots in the first election since the Hamas massacre and kidnappings of October 7th, 2023.
In a tight race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition parties, the polls are reflecting a sharp divide over assigning responsibility for Israel’s preparedness on October 7 and who can best deal with the challenges of Israel’s future security.
CBN News Senior Editor John Waage observed, “The voters of Israel are caught between a few pressures. One of them is, there’s a real ‘Bibi fatigue’ here.”
He sees the prime minister’s long tenure as a factor.
“You know, he’s been in since 2009. He’s been, almost nonstop, the prime minister of Israel. That’s remarkable for the Western world, anywhere, in a democracy. But you have the October 7th war. The opposition is blaming Netanyahu for that war,” Waage noted.
For Netanyahu’s opponents, accountability for October 7th is a central issue. Former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar Party insists their first act would be to call for a state commission of inquiry.
Spokesperson Lianne Pollak-David told CBN News, “We need to investigate, understand what happened, learn, and implement everything that we have learned. Unfortunately, this current government has done everything possible in order to avoid this establishment of a state commission of inquiry.”
Amichai Chikli of Netanyahu’s Likud Party acknowledges mistakes before October 7th, but he defends the response to the attack.
“I’m not saying that there weren’t mistakes, that everything was perfect,” he told us. “But for me, the responsibility of Netanyahu is to understand that we need to change dramatically the way that we approach the situation and to totally change the reality in the Middle East.”
He added, “You have to have a meaningful buffer zone (in Judea and Samaria) and then have the Jewish villages. The same for Lebanon, Gaza, and the Golan. That’s the reality today. There are more challenges to come, but all of that wouldn’t (have) happened without the courageous leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
The issue of who serves in the IDF is also a top priority. The ultra-Orthodox, representing ten percent of the Jewish population, are exempt from military service, and after three years of sacrifice, many Israelis want them to share in the burden of protecting the country.
Just nine days before the vote, Netanyahu received a high-profile show of support from President Trump.
He posted on Truth Social, “Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Israel. BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
Netanyahu responded with thanks, writing, “President Trump, my dear friend Donald, I’m so honored and humbled by your extraordinary endorsement.”
Waage maintains, “It’s a boost for Netanyahu. There’s no doubt about that. And it’s a setback for the opposition. As Gadi Eisenkot said, ‘I respect President Trump a great deal, but it’s Israelis who will decide the election.'”
Waage continued, “I don’t think – nobody disputes that. Netanyahu doesn’t dispute that Israelis are going to decide the election. It’s, what criteria are they going to use?”
In the election for the 120-seat Israeli Knesset, it’s all about the math and whether parties can form a coalition that can agree to a 61-seat majority government.
Recent polls suggest that neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the main opposition bloc has a clear path to a majority. That could put Arab parties and other potential partners in a decisive position, leaving Israel facing another political deadlock.
The outcome will chart the course of the region.
Waage explained, “What’s at stake to a large extent is the future of the Middle East. Because if you have the Trump-Netanyahu combination that’s working over the next several years, you’ll probably have a very different world than if Trump is mitigated by the US elections and Netanyahu is somehow ousted here.”
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