TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — Campaign banners bearing the faces of Israel's political leaders cover buildings and roadsides, while in homes, coffee shops and family gatherings, the same question dominates conversations: Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain in power? With Israelis heading to the polls Tuesday, the country is bracing for a closely contested election that could end in another political deadlock. But this vote is unlike any other in Israel's recent history.
For many Israelis, the election has become a referendum on accountability for the failures that allowed Hamas terrorists to carry out the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre — the deadliest attack in Israel's history. TRUMP SAYS NETANYAHU NEEDS TO BE RE-ELECTED, OR ELSE US WILL HAVE TO 'FINISH THE JOB’ AGAINST IRAN ALONE Netanyahu, who has dominated Israeli politics for decades, has resisted calls to accept personal responsibility for the security failures and establish an independent state commission of inquiry. His government instead sought a politically appointed investigation, a proposal fiercely opposed by many bereaved families.
Yet Israel's divisions began long before Oct. 7. In the months preceding the attacks, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to protest Netanyahu's proposed judicial overhaul, which critics argued would undermine the country's democracy. The confrontation spilled into the military, where reservists threatened to suspend volunteer service, raising alarms about Israel's preparedness.
Some critics have argued that the turmoil projected weakness to the country's enemies, although the extent to which it influenced Hamas's decision to attack remains disputed. Three years after the massacre, those divisions have only deepened, transforming Tuesday's vote into something intensely personal. Political allegiances have strained friendships and divided families, with much of the national debate reduced to a single question: Are you for Netanyahu, widely known as "Bibi," or against him?
DANNY DANON: FROM OCT 7 TO FLIGHT 1073: THE RESILIENCE THAT KEEPS ISRAEL STANDING For some families who lost loved ones on Oct. 7, the answer is painfully clear. Shir Shai, whose brother Yaron Shai, an Israeli soldier, was killed battling Hamas terrorists that day, delivered a stark message to those considering another vote for Netanyahu. "If you nevertheless decide to vote again for the man who brought disaster upon us and his accomplices, I have one personal request: Don't come here anymore," Shai said over her brother's grave in his memorial ceremony on October 7 "You still have 20 days to be part of the process of putting things right.
But if you choose to perpetuate the failure rather than honor the fallen, it would be better if you stayed home next year," she added. NETANYAHU PRAISES TRUMP'S 'WICKED SENSE OF HUMOR,' DEFENDS IRONCLAD ALLIANCE AHEAD OF HISTORIC ISRAEL VOTE Yet other bereaved families have reached the opposite conclusion, crediting Netanyahu with standing firm through years of war on multiple fronts and arguing that Israel's military and intelligence establishment bears the principal responsibility for failing to anticipate the Hamas assault. The deeply polarized atmosphere has been intensified by an increasingly bitter campaign.
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