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2026 Israeli election

Profile
Yaelle Ifrah
Far-right online agitator Mordechai David, the new face of Israel’s toxic political discourse
Israel’s far-right influencer Mordechai David speaks during an interview with AFP in Bnei Brak on September 3, 2026. (Jack Guez/AFP)
Ben Gvir ally blasts smartphone videos to hundreds of thousands on social media, targeting everyone considered 'unpatriotic,' from an Arab Israeli TV anchor to the former Supreme Court chief
Ariela Karmel
Reporter's notebook
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Ofer Winter talks like he’s the opposition, but won’t walk away from Netanyahu
Ariela Karmel
Ultra-Orthodox men block Bar-Ilan Street and clash with police during a protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, in Jerusalem, October 8, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Report: Netanyahu asked Haredi parties to cancel anti-draft protests, fearing optics
By ToI Staff
Stav Levaton
Profile
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Placed on Likud’s slate, pro-Netanyahu pundit Jacob Bardugo amps up political clout to 11
Stav Levaton
An election campaign poster featuring Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot is displayed on a bus in Jerusalem, October 5, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
October 8, 2026, 7:19 pm
ToI poll: Anti-Netanyahu bloc regains lead but both camps short of majority 19 days ahead of vote
Zman Yisrael survey gives bloc of Jewish-led opposition parties a four-seat edge, with Eisenkot’s Yashar back in first ahead of Likud; Channel 13 poll places PM’s bloc ahead
By ToI Staff
News editor Ben Sales appears on the Daily Briefing with host Jessica Steinberg on October 8, 2026 (Flash 90)
October 8, 2026, 2:20 pm
Daily Briefing Oct. 8: Shared grief, deep divisions – Israel marks October 7
News editor Ben Sales discusses the ceremonies held on the third anniversary of the Hamas attack, democratic expectations for election day, and candidates’ reactions to the flydubai attack
By Jessica Steinberg and Ben Sales
An election poster for Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu that reads, 'We won't surrender,' in Tel Aviv, October 6, 2026. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
October 8, 2026, 2:35 am
Three years after Oct. 7 reshaped Israel, its political map is much the same
Voters’ beliefs have been cemented by war, with those against Netanyahu blaming him for massacre, while loyalists view reports that he was given prior warnings of attack as part of effort to topple him
By Ruth Eglash
Passengers from flydubai flight FZ1073 walk through the arrivals hall at Ben Gurion International Airport, after their original flight from Dubai to Israel made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia following a terror attack by the copilot, who attacked the captain and tried to crash the plane, September 30, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
October 8, 2026, 2:03 am
As with Oct. 7, so too with Sept. 30’s flydubai attack: A failure to prevent obvious deadly threats, and a refusal to take responsibility
The gaping holes in security for passengers on foreign airlines serving Israel truly boggle the mind. Until they are clearly addressed, travelers should be very careful in their choices… And so, too, should Israeli voters
By David Horovitz
L: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, September 24, 2026. R: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to the press in July 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
October 7, 2026, 12:38 pm
Is Netanyahu’s beef with Mamdani helping him politically?
Experts say PM, facing tough reelection campaign, has painted himself as a bulwark against a New York City mayor who is an icon of global anti-Israel sentiment
By Eliav Breuer
Passengers at the arrival hall in the Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv on May 18, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
October 7, 2026, 2:00 am
Likud inks compromise with Israeli expat voter effort; 53,000 said planning to fly in for election
Under the agreement, Likud agrees to withdraw petition, while AID Coalition, which advertised six flights for Election Day, will not subsidize costs or organize more planes
By ToI Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Tel Nof air base in a picture distributed on September 29, 2026. (Ma’ayan Toaf/GPO)
October 6, 2026, 11:10 pm
Netanyahu ordered to remove video filmed at IDF airbase from his personal social media
Central Elections Committee chief Noam Sohlberg says clip, in which PM warned enemies may attack Israel before Oct. 27 vote, contained ‘elements of election propaganda’
By ToI Staff
Former hostage Yocheved Lifshitz joins families of former hostages, hostages who were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip, and victims of the October 7 attack at the Families’ Sukkah at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, September 28, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
October 6, 2026, 10:34 pm
Poll finds Oct. 7 a central factor in most Israelis’ election decision-making
But split between supporters, opponents of government remains largely unchanged from before Hamas attack; survey shows declining levels of optimism about future of democracy, national security, economy and social cohesion
By ToI Staff
Volunteers sit under a portrait of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei while attending a military training course at a camp set up in Imam Hussein Square in Tehran, Iran, on October 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
October 6, 2026, 9:32 pm
National Security Council warns Iran could attack Israel, Jews on Oct. 7 anniversary
Israelis abroad urged not to speak Hebrew in crowded places or approach demonstrations; heads of IDF, Shin Bet and police discuss plans to keep Oct. 27 election ‘orderly and safe’
By Lazar Berman, Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Yashar party leader and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot campaigns ahead of Israel’s upcoming general election, in Kiryat Malachi, August 17, 2026. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)
October 6, 2026, 5:56 pm
Bereaved by war, determined to heal, protect and revive Israel: Gadi Eisenkot’s prime ministerial mission
In an impassioned interview with The Times of Israel, the opposition frontrunner explains why he stayed in politics after his son was killed in Gaza, how he would safeguard Israel and return it to the community of nations, and why Netanyahu, the PM of Oct. 7, must be sent home
By Tal Schneider and David Horovitz
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) speaks at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, October 6, 2026. (GPO/Screenshot)
October 6, 2026, 5:23 pm
Netanyahu claims Hamas will try to attack Israel to influence upcoming election
Katz says Israel has intel indicating terror group plans to target IDF in Gaza on Wednesday’s 3-year anniversary of Oct. 7 attack, warns Hamas and Gaza civilians will pay price if troops harmed
By Lazar Berman, Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Rabbi Dov Lando in Bnei Brak, August 21, 2025. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)
October 6, 2026, 1:14 am
Top Haredi rabbi denounces Israeli state, religious soldiers; opposition rebukes him, notes ties to Netanyahu
Rabbi Dov Lando, an influential figure in the United Torah Judaism party, says Zionism ‘made Arabs hate us’ and Arab rule would have been preferable to establishment of state
By Stav Levaton and ToI Staff
Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen in a photo montage at separate election events in 2026. (Flash90)
October 5, 2026, 2:56 am
Eisenkot challenges Netanyahu to a televised debate before national election
Yashar party says leadership candidates owe the public ‘full, direct and honest answers’; latest poll shows Eisenkot’s faction predicted to receive 23 seats to Likud’s 21
By ToI Staff
Prime Minister and Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, surrounded by supporters, during an election campaign tour in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, September 29, 2026. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)
October 4, 2026, 9:03 pm
Election panel orders Netanyahu to remove videos that violate propaganda laws
Committee chair says five clips published to social media feature problematic content, including video of a visit to a military base in Lebanon
By Jeremy Sharon
People of Israel chair Ofer Winter speaks at a party event in Rishon Lezion, September 15, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
October 4, 2026, 6:57 am
Winter says he’ll demand ultra-Orthodox IDF service, but would still join coalition with Haredim
Right-wing ex-general calls Netanyahu ‘sucker’ but says he’ll support him for PM; Yoseph Haddad, Arab candidate in party, disavows past support for Palestinian state
By Jeremy Sharon and ToI Staff
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