Israel at a Crossroads: Previewing the 2026 Elections

Event Date: 20th October 2026
Location: Online, 6pm BST

Israel’s October 27 election will be one of the most consequential in its history as the country chooses whether to renew the mandate of Prime Minister Netanyahu or chart a course with new national leadership.

Following Israel’s 2022 elections, Netanyahu formed the most extreme right-wing government in the nation’s history. Since then, the country has been convulsed by a series of crises.

• In January 2023 the government announced its intention to overhaul Israel’s judiciary, sparking the largest protest movement in Israel’s history fighting to preserve its democratic institutions.
• On October 7th, 2023, Hamas attacked Israeli communities in one of the most devastating attacks in the country’s history, killing about 900 civilians and kidnapping hundreds more. Netanyahu’s government responded with a massive military assault in Gaza, killing over 70,000 Palestinians and creating an overwhelming humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

• In June 2025 and then again in February 2026, the United States joined Israel in launching war on Iran, which, to date, has not achieved its objectives of overthrowing the Islamic Republic’s regime, destroying its missile capabilities, or forcing it to abandon its nuclear program. Iran has responded by attacking U.S. partners in the Gulf region and Israel itself.

• Tension and violence persist in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and the Gulf states. And in the U.S., public support for Israel has cratered across demographics and party lines.

Many Israelis feel they have reached a crossroads. The social fabric is wearing thin as tensions between religious and secular, right and left, Jewish and Arab continue to grow and Israel experiences, for the first time, net outmigration. And the country faces international backlash — even from close allies — against its foreign policy decisions and its treatment of Palestinians.

What path will Israelis choose in October? Join Perry World House for a timely conversation about Israel’s upcoming vote and what it will mean for the country, the region, and the world.