An existential election for Israel

Israelis go to the polls next Tuesday, in what is shaping up to be arguably the most important election in the state’s history.

Three years on from October 7, Israelis are a divided people. The scars of that day run deep. Despite military successes not only in Gaza but also in Lebanon and Iran, Hamas has not been destroyed. PM Benjamin Netanyahu still refuses to assume responsibility for the security failures that led to the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust and continues to oppose a state probe.

Weary reservists have spent months away from their loved ones while their Charedi countrymen refuse to serve in the IDF. Those same Charedim send their children to state-funded schools that are not teaching English, mathematics and science to a standard that will make them future contributors to Israel’s economy. Seeing the writing on the wall, doctors, scientists and hi-tech entrepreneurs are moving abroad, leading to a brain drain. Nothing will change if the Charedi parties, on whose numbers Netanyahu relies, retain their recalcitrance.

Meanwhile, the incumbent Prime Minister’s far-right Coalition partners Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich continue making incendiary statements that contribute to the damning of Israel in public opinion, the effect of which is felt by Jews across the Diaspora.

Then there is the judicial overhaul that divided Israel prior to October 7, which Justice Minister Yariv Levin is still determined to pursue.

There are simply too many disparate, self-serving interests at play in this current government. Israel cannot afford four more years of this.

Netanyahu’s prior achievements cannot be taken away from him. He oversaw years of economic growth as Israel became the start-up nation. In his previous terms he largely kept Israel safe and secure. He signed the region-changing Abraham Accords. He deserves credit for the many years of stable leadership prior to the last Knesset.

But it is time for a change. We may not have a vote but we are invested in its outcome.

Israel needs fresh leadership and fresh ideas. It needs a government that will both seek answers for the failures of October 7 and unite the people as the country faces the challenges ahead.

May Tuesday’s vote be the beginning of that healing.