Israel needs a government of national repair

Benjamin Netanyahu’s supporters can point to substantial achievements: the Abraham Accords, the crippling of Hamas and Hezbollah, direct action against Iran and the eventual return of the hostages. Any serious case for change should acknowledge them. But an election is not a lifetime-achievement award. It is a decision about who can lead Israel from where it stands now, and our beloved Israel is wounded, divided and dangerously trapped in the political habits that preceded October 7.

The case for change begins with accountability. October 7 was the worst day in Israel’s history: a collapse of intelligence, military preparedness and political leadership. Senior security figures have accepted responsibility or left office. Netanyahu remains and has resisted the state commission of inquiry needed to establish, independently and authoritatively, how the disaster occurred.

Israel cannot protect itself from the next October 7 until it understands the last. The first act of a new government should therefore be to establish that commission, publish its findings and implement them without fear or favour.

The Charedi exemption exposes the same refusal to confront reality. For three years, reservists have repeatedly left families, businesses and careers to defend the country. Yet the government has fought to preserve mass exemptions for Charedi men while directing billions of shekels to institutions that sustain the arrangement. The 2026 budget lifted allocations to Charedi educational institutions to more than NIS 5 billion ($2.3 billion).

A viable Jewish state cannot remain permanently divided between those required to defend it and those financed to avoid doing so. A new government should create universal military, national or meaningful civil service, not blanket immunity negotiated for votes.