Elections cannot produce change in Israel Political change cannot come from within Israeli society. It can only come from the outside. Throughout the Israeli election campaign, the focus has been on two “blocs” – one led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the other opposing him. To the outside observer, the “pro-Netanyahu” and “anti-Netanyahu” labels imply that there are two different visions for the country and that the policies of the next government will depend on which one wins the ele
10/25/26 • 41 Görünümler
Political change cannot come from within Israeli society. It can only come from the outside.
Throughout the Israeli election campaign, the focus has been on two “blocs” – one led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the other opposing him. To the outside observer, the “pro-Netanyahu” and “anti-Netanyahu” labels imply that there are two different visions for the country and that the policies of the next government will depend on which one wins the elections.
This assumption is not surprising. In countries across the world, different candidates offer different visions for their country during electoral races. But in Israel, and particularly as it pertains to the Palestinians, this cannot be further from the truth.
Foreign diplomats ask about the future of the mythical “two-state solution” and talk about reconstruction plans in Gaza. They assume that Netanyahu is the reason for the lack of progress. Without him, everything will change. We can only wish.
One would think that three years of genocide, pending war crimes indictments, rulings and pending cases at the International Court of Justice as well as the scores of reports documenting Israel’s atrocities would affect the Israeli election. One would assume that when taking to the polls, Israelis would be thinking of what they have done to Palestinians, what this will breed for the future and, even selfishly, what it means for them. But they will not.
Instead, the vast majority of them will vote for candidates who, like them, support the continued denial of freedom for the Palestinians, the continued colonisation of the West Bank, the continued destruction of Gaza, the continued genocide of Palestinians and the continued bombing of and theft of land from neighbouring sovereign nations.
All this is apparent in the slogans and the statements that the candidates have put forward themselves: those supporting Netanyahu have called for Gaza to be flattened, have wished for the occupied West Bank to be turned into Gaza and have proclaimed that there are no innocents among the Palestinians.
Their ads feature bulldozers tearing down Palestinian homes, Palestinians starving and Israeli bombs exploding in civilian areas, with candidates promising even more. “Occupy. Expel. Settle” is one slogan.
What about the opposition? Their positions do not differ. For example, Avigdor Liberman, a staunch Netanyahu rival, has also long maintained that there are “no innocents in Gaza”. He and members of his party have worked to block food from getting into Gaza and have openly called for the takeover of Lebanon.
Even members of the opposition, who are considered leftists, like Yair Golan, have criticised the international recognition of Palestine and support Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
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