Israelis went to the polls on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 in record numbers, with turnout reaching 77.7 percent, the highest since 1999. The ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Netanyahu dramatically lost about 22 percent of its coalition mandates in the Knesset and now represent about 53 mandates. Votes are still being counted and the numbers may change. Israel, however, despite past threats to its democracy, remains a pluralistic and democratic Jewish state.

The following are a few statements worth considering as Israeli President Isaac Herzog decides which party is most likely to form a new ruling coalition government and invites either Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose Likud Party was the largest vote-getter (about 27 mandates), or Gadi Eisenkot (a former army chief-of -staff) whose broad anti-Netanyahu voting bloc far outnumbered the current government coalition to equal between 66 and 68 mandates. 61 mandates out of the total of 120 Knesset seats are required to form a majority parliamentary government. However, minority governments have been formed in the past with the tacit agreement of the Arab parties. That is an option for Eisenkot this time given that his group of anti-Netanyahu parties totals about 48 mandates and Arab mandates total between 18 and 20 mandates.

It will take many weeks for the process to play itself out before we know exactly what the new Israeli government looks like. Many in Israel, however, are saying that it would work against Gadi Eisenkot’s and the “change bloc’s” advantage to go to new elections:

“Netanyahu’s Likud emerged as the largest party, performing significantly better than many of us had expected. This is the bad news which is very hard to comprehend – a prime minister who failed on all accounts receives 20% of the votes.…Netanyahu’s coalition depended on the ultra-Orthodox parties and the far-right parties led by Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Their influence has shaped government policies on military service, public funding, religious freedom, and judicial independence, as well as Israel’s approach to the West Bank and Gaza.… Despite Netanyahu’s personal success, the election results reflect a significant desire for political change.” (Orly Erez-Likhovski, Director of the Reform Movement’s Israel Religious Action Center)

“…despite the impression he is trying to create through his loyalists in the media, the prime minister did not win this election. … The ‘bloc of change’ entered this week’s election under ideal conditions, with four parties safely passing the electoral threshold. Surplus-vote agreements were signed between them, and the election saw a massive turnout of voters from overseas. However, all this did not translate into a clear political victory.” (Amos Harel, Haaretz op-ed)

“We can no longer accept Netanyahu’s racist distinction between Jewish and Arab votes.” (Reserve General Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats party)

“The outgoing government does not have, and has not had, a majority in the Israeli public in the past four years, and not even a majority in the Zionist public. The October 2026 elections – which were largely a referendum on the past four years – proved this conclusively and unequivocally…. The solution is cooperation between the Zionist Change Bloc parties and the Arab parties. The Joint List and Ra’am achieved a historic result in the 2026 elections. Arab voters did indeed flock to the polls to replace the government that had oppressed them, and under whose rule and neglect violence raged in Arab communities, Jewish rioters ran amok in the West Bank, and the IDF left unimaginable destruction in the Gaza Strip…. Something amazing and unimaginable has been happening in Israel in the past 24 hours: The Arab parties are reaching out to liberal Israel and saying: You cannot win the fight for Israel’s image without us. Cooperate with us and we will help you save Israel.” (Zman Yisrael – Doar Hayom, by Amir Ben David, October 29, 2026)

Finally – there is no perfect political solution in this post-election period. What is clear, however, is that for a ruling coalition (or even a minority coalition supported by the two Arab parties – the Joint List and Ra’am) to form a government will take vision, courage, and the spirit of compromise that includes the rights and concerns of all of Israel’s citizens, Jewish-Israelis and Arab-Israelis.

I listen daily to the Times of Israel Podcast, the weekly Haaretz Podcast hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer, and the For Heaven’s Sake Podcast with Rabbi Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. I also read daily the English language edition of Haaretz, the Hebrew newsletter called Zman Yisrael – Doar Hayom by Amir Ben David (you can get an immediate translation to English on the site) and the J Street Daily Substack. It is a lot to listen to and read, but if you choose to do any of it, you will gain a clearer understanding of what is happening in Israel from the political middle-right to middle-left in this dramatic post-election period.