Israel’s Election Explainer: What matters beyond a Party’s promises

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With Election Day approaching in just two weeks, many Israelis are still deciding how to cast their vote. Some have followed the campaigns closely but remain undecided, while others are only now beginning to examine their options.

Naturally, the first things people look at are the parties, their leaders and the policies they promise to advance. But in Israel, deciding how to vote is very layered and involves several other overlapping and important considerations that aren’t always immediately obvious. Understanding these additional factors is an important part, if not more important, of deciding how to use an individual vote.

A vote for one party can also be a vote for an entire bloc

Israel’s Knesset has 120 seats, distributed among parties according to the proportion of votes they receive. So if your party wins 10% of the vote, you would receive 12 seats. But to form a government, parties need to then join together in a “coalition” and reach at least 61 seats. That means voting for one party is, in a sense, also voting for the other parties it might govern with.

Those coalition agreements and partnerships involve negotiations, concessions and compromises from all sides. Even a small party can demand disproportionally important roles or major policy commitments in exchange for joining. As a result, a party may end up supporting policies it never campaigned on, or compromising on positions it does not necessarily agree with.

Forming a government doesn’t mean it can actually govern

Even when a group of parties has enough seats to form a government, that doesn’t guarantee it will function effectively. A coalition with exactly 61 seats has almost no room for disagreement, because it needs a majority of the 120 Knesset members to pass laws and carry them out. Even one or two MKs refusing to cooperate can block decisions and threaten the government’s stability.

For example, when Ben Gvir’s six-seat Otzma Yehudit party left Netanyahu’s coalition over the Gaza ceasefire deal in January 2025, the government survived because it had originally held 68 seats, leaving it still with 62.

But numbers aren’t everything. A coalition with a comfortable majority can still struggle if its parties fundamentally disagree on major issues such as security, religion or the economy. For example, in 2022, the Arab Ra’am party, which was part of Bennett’s coalition, suspended its participation in the government over tensions on the Temple Mount.

Disagreements between coalition partners can also prevent parties from delivering on their campaign promises. A party might promise an ambitious reform, but implementing it requires support from its partners. In extreme cases, disagreements can bring down the government and trigger another election, as happened with Bennett’s coalition in 2022.

There’s also the possibility of a national unity government bringing together rival political blocs. Although that currently appears a remote possibility, a party’s willingness to consider such an arrangement, and the compromises involved, is another consideration.

The biggest party doesn’t automatically get the prime minister

Unlike in a presidential election, Israelis don’t directly vote for their prime minister, and the leader of the biggest party doesn’t automatically become prime minister. After the election, the parties indicate whom they support to form the next government, and the president assigns a candidate the task of assembling a coalition.

That means a smaller party’s leader can theoretically get the job if they can secure the necessary political support. In fact, Naftali Bennett became prime minister in 2021 despite his Yamina party winning just seven seats, while Likud won 30.

In this election, the parties in Netanyahu’s current coalition are expected to back him again. But among the opposition parties, it’s much less clear, with Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman all seeking the premiership.

The electoral threshold can make a vote go to waste

To enter the Knesset, a party must receive at least 3.25% of the valid national vote, roughly four seats’ worth. If it falls short, it receives no seats at all, and every vote cast for that party goes to waste as far as Knesset representation is concerned.

A smaller party near the threashold may represent someone’s views more closely than any other, but if there’s a serious chance it won’t enter the Knesset, the risk of receiving no representation is worth taking into account.

The vote is for an entire list, not just its leader

In Israel, voters choose party lists rather than individual candidates. The number of seats a party receives determines how many candidates from its list enter the Knesset, in the order they appear. That means a vote for a popular leader can also elect other politicians with their own views, priorities and influence over legislation and government decisions.

Advice

Choosing a party is only part of choosing a government. Particularly in this election, many of the choices facing voters come with compromises and sacrifices. A party might best represent someone’s beliefs but have little chance of entering the Knesset. Another might offer a more realistic path to power but require cooperation with parties that hold very different views. Even a party with appealing policies may be part of a coalition that struggles to function or deliver on its promises.

Ultimately, the decision isn’t just about which party best represents someone’s views, but what kind of government they want representing Israel, which priorities matter most, and what compromises they’re willing to accept. No party or coalition necessarily offers everything a voter wants. The challenge is deciding which sacrifices are worth making and what an individual vote can realistically help accomplish.