Two weeks out, Netanyahu’s coalition and the opposition are more or less tied, and neither has a path to 61 seats without the Arab parties.

Turnout, small parties and vote-sharing deals could decide it. Or Israel could be heading back to the polls.

🎧 Follow Politica Israel podast for weekly updates on Israel’s 2026 election.

For more than three decades, Benjamin Netanyahu has been the face of Israel to Jews and governments around the world. With Israel voting on 27 October, Episode 13 of Politica looks at how he built and kept power: his corruption trial, the political culture known as "Bibism," his record after 7 October, and his strained relationship with the diaspora. Will Israel crown him King Bibi?

Ahead of Israel's election, neither of Israel's political blocs can reach a majority without the Arab vote.

Sharon and Yuval discuss how Mansour Abbas, Ra'am, and the coalition math is shaping Israel's election, from the October 7th story of Osama Abu Asha to the organised crime crisis driving Arab voters' priorities.

On 27 October, will the Arabs become Israel's government sheikh-makers?

Forget left vs right. Israeli voters are political tribes and keep producing more parties than anyone can keep track of. Are stalwart Likud voters moving away and if so, who will they replace King Bibi with?

Sharon Offenberger and Yuval Regev break down the identities really deciding this election and look at Jewish history as a reminder of what happens when the people are divided.

Politica - Israeli politics explained at a diaspora volume.

Watch at https://youtu.be/TbmHTDp3oLo

Sharon and Yuval unpack the Haredi draft exemption crisis dividing Israel ahead of its 2026 election - an equality issue as much as a legal one, with some Israelis serving months in reserve duty (miluim) and paying the price of war while others are excused entirely.

Why does the High Court keeps striking the exemption down, why is it splitting Likud party and Religious Zionist Party voters, and what it means for the next Israel's next prime minister, whoever that is.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ezXveAQ0mOs

Israel's election has been called for 27 October 2026 as the Israel's government completes its 4-year term.

What could actually derail it?

This episode, Sharon and Yuval score the real risks: war with Iran, West Bank violence, internal division, attacks on the judiciary, or an outcome that takes Israel back in time. A look at what's actually at stake for Israeli democracy — and why the diaspora needs to pay attention.

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/3yx4wjDesx0

Israel is officially going to elections on 27 October 2026, and just before moving to a caretaker government, a new assault on democratic institutions is taking place. For the first time in Israel's history, the government has declared in a statement that it will not respect a Supreme Court ruling.

Sharon and Yuval discuss the fight for three democratic institutions: the judiciary, the media, and the Attorney General. Without a formal constitution, the stakes of this election are clear.

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/xYu445AgWiI

Two communities make up a third of Israel’s population, don’t serve in the military, and increasingly decide who governs.

Sharon and Yuval examine Israel’s Haredi and Arab populations — two groups that sit outside the Zionist mainstream for very different reasons. One is growing fast and the other has been largely excluded from government.

This episode of Politica Israel podcast covers demographics, political leverage on the Knesset in Israel, and the coalition trade-offs shaping the next election.

Watch the award-winning TJI documentary Palestinian Citizens of Israel: From their Perspective, for even more insights here: https://youtu.be/l15_Qg0H6kU