Israel’s election and the Jewish world
While only Israelis will cast their votes on October 27, the repercussions of that choice will reach Jews across the globe
As Israel approaches one of the most consequential elections in its history, the political campaign and public debate have centred almost exclusively on questions of national security and domestic affairs.
Yet one critical dimension has been largely absent: the election’s implications for the millions of Jews living around the world, whose lives will inevitably be affected by its outcome.
Since October 2023, rising antisemitism has revealed that decisions made in Jerusalem reverberate through Jewish communities worldwide, reshaping their security, identity and place in civic life. For Australian Jewry, the consequences have been particularly stark, with one of the sharpest increases in antisemitic incidents culminating in the Bondi massacre, the deadliest antisemitic attack outside of Israel in the 21st century.
This is not to suggest that Israel should make its national security strategy according to demonstrations abroad or activism on university campuses. A country’s foremost obligation is to protect its own citizens.
This is the first Israeli election to take place in the aftermath of October 7. It comes at a moment when the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora has been fundamentally transformed.
For decades, the Jewish state and the Diaspora were bound together by a familiar covenant in which Israel was the nation-state of the Jewish people, and Jews across the Diaspora sustained that relationship through philanthropy, education, advocacy and an enduring emotional bond, all while cultivating vibrant communal lives within their own societies.
One of the most significant developments in the last three years has not only been the resurgence of global antisemitism, but the growing expectation that Jews worldwide be held accountable for the conduct of the Israeli government. From university lecture theatres and workplaces to the media, public discourse and even private interactions, Jewish individuals and institutions have found themselves confronted with questions about military operations, ministerial declarations and government policy, regardless of their political views or personal connection with the Jewish state. The distinction between being Jewish and being Israeli has become increasingly blurred.
A decade ago, then-president Reuven Rivlin offered a remarkably prescient vision of Jewish peoplehood. Reflecting on Israel’s changing society, he argued that it had become a society of four tribes, four distinct communities – secular, national-religious, ultra-Orthodox and Arab Israelis – each equally legitimate and each essential to Israel’s future. He later extended that framework by embracing Diaspora Jewry as Israel’s fifth tribe, not citizens of the state, but full partners in the Jewish story and participants in a shared destiny. A decade later, that vision feels strikingly relevant.
Australia illustrates this idea with particular clarity. Jewish Australians have found themselves expected to explain, defend, or distance themselves from decisions made by a government they did not elect.
This new reality has elevated the Diaspora into what has become known as Israel’s eighth front. While Israel’s traditional fronts have historically been territorial, defined by geographical security threats, the eighth front is transnational. It is the global arena where Jews around the world defend the Jewish state’s legitimacy while confronting hostility within their own societies. It is fought not with military force, but through advocacy, education, legal challenges, diplomacy and the daily resilience of Jewish communities.
This represents a significant shift in the Israel–Diaspora relationship.
The fifth tribe framed the partnership between Israel and Jews in the Diaspora. The eighth front recognises that the actions and statements by the Israeli government influence not only its own security and diplomacy, but also the daily lives of Jews around the world. This is reflected in the confidence with which students walk onto university campuses, the safety measures adopted by synagogues and Jewish schools, and the place of Jewish life within the public sphere.
The upcoming election is therefore more than a contest between political parties or competing visions of Israel’s domestic future. It is also a defining moment in the evolving covenant between Israel and world Jewry.
The election campaign has understandably focused on domestic and strategic priorities, governance and the future of Israeli society. Yet the incoming government will also inherit a responsibility that extends beyond its own citizens. It must recognise that its policies, its rhetoric and the example set by its leadership shape the lived experience of millions throughout the Jewish world.
While only Israelis will cast their votes on October 27, the repercussions of that choice will reach Jews across the globe. The next government will lead a state whose voice resonates far beyond its borders, and whose responsibility to the Jewish people has never been more significant.
Vanina Vaisman-Levy is an Israeli lawyer and a postgraduate researcher in the field of migrations studies at the University of Sydney.