Transcript [00:02] Welcome to Waiting for 61, JTA's Israel [00:05] election podcast, where we break down [00:07] the fundamentals of Israel's 2026 [00:09] elections, the politics, the players, [00:11] and what's at stake as the country heads [00:13] to the polls. I'm Amy Eden, CEO and [00:16] executive editor of 70 Basis Media, the [00:18] organization behind the Jewish [00:20] Telegraphic Agency. [00:21] >> And I'm Ruth Eglash, JTA's senior Israel [00:24] correspondent. Today marks 4 days until [00:27] Israelis cast their votes. Today we are [00:30] going to answer questions from our [00:32] listeners. We've got three topics we [00:34] want to get to. One I'd say is in [00:37] everybody's mind. One's very technical [00:39] and one's very philosophical. Um, so the [00:43] first question that I I'm hearing from a [00:45] lot of people, you know, on text and on [00:48] people I'm talking to, not it's not any [00:50] one person who sent an email, but it's [00:51] it's the thing I'm hearing the most is [00:53] what is going on with all these reports [00:56] about Israeli planes that went up close [00:58] to reportedly went up to close to Iran, [01:01] you know, up to Iran's uh airspace. Is [01:04] there going to be some kind of war [01:07] before election day? what what is going [01:10] on with all this heightened chatter [01:13] about a possible um Israeli strike [01:16] against Iran? [01:18] >> Well, you know, Amy, I think that this [01:20] question is really like at the back of [01:23] everybody's mind even as they're [01:24] preparing to vote or they're deciding [01:26] what they want to do on election day or [01:28] they're thinking about what's going to [01:29] happen the day after um on Wednesday. [01:32] Who's going to be the next prime [01:33] minister? Will Natanyahu retain power? [01:36] Will we have a new prime minister here? [01:38] So um but that question is could a war [01:41] suddenly erupt again um is on [01:44] everybody's mind and one of the reasons [01:46] is as you said there's these kind of [01:48] reports coming out that Israeli fighter [01:50] jets flew up to the border with Iran. I [01:52] mean that could be uh a regular like [01:56] occurrence and we just never heard about [01:57] it before. That could be them going to [02:00] scout out different you know sites. [02:02] There also is uh there were also reports [02:05] this week that uh Pete Hegsath the US uh [02:09] defense secretary visited Israel, met [02:12] with Netanyahu and with the defense [02:14] minister. So there is kind of this [02:16] question why would he come to Israel? [02:18] Why why would there be that kind of uh [02:21] uh meeting held secretly? So I don't [02:24] know I I can't predict a war but uh you [02:28] know it is on everybody's mind and you [02:30] know some there is also the question of [02:32] why people think this and I think that [02:34] one of the reasons is people are like [02:36] well you know what if Natanyahu is like [02:38] on his path to losing and then he [02:40] initiates this uh war with Iran and then [02:42] he says well we can't have an election [02:44] because there's a war you know people [02:46] can't get to the v polling stations. I [02:48] mean there's all those kind of like kind [02:50] of things going through people's minds. [02:52] I mean, it's partly because we've been [02:54] in this stuck in this uh 3 years of war [02:57] and not really knowing what's going on [03:00] uh from day to day. We can't make plans [03:02] here. But it's also, you know, there are [03:05] these legitimate signs that we've seen [03:07] happening over the last couple of weeks. [03:10] >> It's such a a dramatic contrast because [03:12] I feel like you have all these Israelis [03:14] saying, "Is war is is war with Iran [03:17] going to start up again before election [03:20] day?" And meanwhile, you have all these [03:22] American voters and pundits who are [03:23] saying, "Is the Iran war going to end [03:27] before election day?" So, talk about, [03:30] you know, a tale of two cities. You [03:32] know, how many Americans feel they're [03:34] very much in a war with Iran right now [03:36] and Israelis feel like they're in a [03:38] pause. I I don't know who's right, but [03:40] like it's a it definitely is a [03:42] difference in perception about what's [03:45] going on. [03:46] >> It's a difference also in like feeling, [03:48] right? Because here when we were in the [03:50] midst of the war um earlier this year, [03:53] we you know, Israelis were running to [03:55] bomb shelters. There were, you know, [03:58] ballistic missiles falling uh in the [04:00] streets. So, you know, that is what [04:03] they're talking about when they think [04:04] about going back to war. But you're [04:05] right, in essence, uh the war has not [04:07] really ended because they haven't [04:09] reached any agreements on anything. So, [04:12] it's still going on for as far as we can [04:15] see. [04:16] >> Okay. So, let's go to our technical [04:18] question of the week. This is from [04:20] Steven in San Antonio. [04:23] If a party meets the electoral threshold [04:25] and sends at least four names to its [04:27] list to the Knesset, what happens if one [04:30] of its Knesset members then makes a [04:32] statement, takes a position, or does [04:33] something else that is at odds with the [04:35] party? Can the party expel the member [04:38] from the from the Knesset and replace [04:40] him or her with the next person on its [04:42] list? Thank you for your very [04:44] informative series and Stephen, thank [04:46] you for your question. [04:47] >> Yeah, thank you for that question. I I [04:49] like these technical questions. I find [04:51] them very interesting. So, a party can [04:54] decide that a candidate or a candidate [04:56] can decide that they no longer want to [04:58] be with their faction. It could happen [05:00] immediately after the election. It could [05:01] happen uh you know after two years of [05:04] being in in a Knesset session in the [05:06] parliament's parliamentary session where [05:09] a a candidate a member of Knesset could [05:11] decide they no longer want to be with [05:13] their faction or their faction could [05:15] decide they no longer want that person [05:17] for whatever reason maybe they made a [05:19] comment maybe they did something that [05:21] was you know they voted against their [05:23] party's wishes um and they can leave the [05:26] party but they cannot be expelled by [05:29] their party from the Knesset [05:31] But the Knesset has like an ethics [05:33] committee that meets and decides, you [05:36] know, how to react to certain behaviors. [05:39] So that committee can punish the Knesset [05:42] member. That Knesset member can stay in [05:44] the Knesset, can be, you know, have an [05:46] office there, can vote in the in the [05:48] plenum and vote on legislation, but will [05:51] not be tied to a faction. They'll kind [05:53] of be a rogue Knesset member. And it's [05:55] happened. It happened uh in the [05:58] government of Napa Bennett and Ya Laid. [06:01] There was uh one Knesset member who [06:04] decided to leave his faction over [06:06] because over disagreements on certain [06:08] legislation and that Knesset member was [06:11] punished by the Knesset that had [06:13] sanctions against them and and other [06:15] things that made it kind of [06:16] uncomfortable for them to be in the [06:18] Knesset. [06:19] >> Okay. Finally, let's close with our [06:22] philosophical question which comes from [06:24] Joseph from Rutgers, New Jersey. After [06:27] listening to you describe Gotti [06:29] Eisenot's strengths and weaknesses, I [06:32] must ask why potential leaders haven't [06:34] emerged that have his strengths but not [06:37] his weaknesses. Why are all the [06:39] candidates flawed? [06:40] >> Well, that is a very good question and I [06:43] think all candidate I mean all human [06:46] beings are flawed. So, you know, let's [06:48] start let's start with the baseline. And [06:50] uh you know, you just you have to deal [06:52] with the fact that human beings are [06:54] flawed and they're always going to have [06:55] strengths and they're always going to [06:57] have weaknesses. And sometimes with [06:59] politicians, they don't like to show you [07:01] their weaknesses and even if they don't [07:02] show you them, they're still there [07:03] somewhere and eventually at some point [07:05] they'll come through. So, I think that [07:07] that's the answer is is a philosophical [07:10] answer. Um, and you just have to pick [07:13] the best candidate who has uh the best [07:15] strengths and accept that they're going [07:17] to have weaknesses as well. [07:19] >> See, I have a slightly different take, [07:21] which is I think you could find a [07:23] flawless candidate where, you know, [07:25] somebody was perfect in all realms and [07:28] then I bet you that person would be [07:29] actually a terrible candidate and not [07:30] win, [07:33] right? Like I guess you could say by [07:35] definition that means they're they're [07:37] not flawless. But I mean, you know, find [07:38] me the perfect ethical, balanced human, [07:42] and I'm not sure politics is is right [07:46] for them. [07:48] >> Yes, I don't want to be too cynical, but [07:50] I have to agree with you. I think [07:52] politics is not is not a realm that [07:55] courts people who are flawless. I think [07:57] politicians need by nature to be a [08:00] little bit manipulative and a little bit [08:02] uh um you know, a bit of a show person, [08:05] you know. So I think uh that is kind of [08:08] you know there's there's a deceit there [08:10] that you can't get away from if you're a [08:13] politician. [08:14] >> I remember hearing a Shabbat lecture [08:16] from Rabbi Schmool [08:19] um a teacher at Sar High School and [08:22] Rabbi of Young Israel of uh North [08:25] Riverdale. [08:27] And his basic point was if you look in [08:29] the tomutic sources [08:32] basically the rabbis say all political [08:35] leaders are are [08:38] terrible just bad. The best the best you [08:42] can hope for is that you get one who's [08:44] willing to acknowledge when they were [08:47] wrong and make a mistake. That's that's [08:49] like the the bar. That's the best you [08:52] can hope for. [08:53] >> Yeah. I don't know if uh well what I've [08:55] what I've observed from uh Israeli [08:57] politicians is they they don't like to [09:00] uh admit when they're wrong or take [09:02] accountability which is part of one of [09:04] the reasons why we're in this election. [09:06] >> Yeah. Um by the way it's not just [09:09] Israeli politician. It's [09:13] that's it for today. Shabbat shalom to [09:15] all of you. Thank you to our producer. [09:19] Please make sure to join us Sunday for [09:21] the next episode of Waiting for61. And [09:23] don't forget to send your questions into [09:25] waiting for61jta.org.
What does it take to win an election in Israel? And what happens after the votes are counted?
Waiting for 61, JTA’s Israel election podcast, is your guide to the personalities, power struggles and political calculations shaping Israel’s future. Whether you're a seasoned observer of Israeli politics or just trying to understand how it all works, we'll take you beyond the headlines to explore what's driving the election, why it matters – and what it could mean for Israel and the world.
Israeli elections are rarely straightforward. With a crowded field of parties, shifting political alliances and a parliamentary system where winning the most votes doesn't necessarily mean winning power, there's a lot to untangle. That's where we come in. Join Ami Eden, CEO of 70 Faces Media (JTA’s parent organization) and Ruth Eglash, JTA’s Senior Israel correspondent, every weekday for sharp analysis, lively conversations and a closer look at the forces driving Israel’s unpredictable political system.
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