What's at stake in Israel? Election preview with SBS Hebrew

Michael Bartura (0:05)

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Hannah Hodson (0:09)

As Israel prepares for a pivotal election, voters are weighing questions about security, leadership and the country's future after years of conflict. For some insight into key issues and the mood among voters, I'm joined by Michael Bartura from SBS Hebrew. Michael, great to have you with us.

Michael Bartura (0:29)

Great to join you on the programme. Thanks, Hannah.

Hannah Hodson (0:32)

Well, look, Israelis head to the polls on 27 October. What's at stake in this election, and what are the biggest issues driving voters?

Michael Bartura (0:40)

Hannah, this election has been called the most crucial election in Israel history by many of the people who are participating, both as people who are running at the heads of parties as well as people in the streets, or even people overseas. And that is because there has not been before a situation in which there's so much at stake, both from an internal point of view, the split in the nation between our opinions and between the people on what you would call the right and the left in traditional, although we can talk about that because it's not really according to what we understand as right and left wings. But certainly the two different camps say, the camp that is largely supported Netanyahu and was called a full right wing government when they started four years ago, and between the camps that want to change. The first and foremost has been a thorn in the side of the conversation, the public discourse, and that is whether to appoint a state commission to investigate the attack and the response on 7th of October, 2023

That response was, you could say that all the systems that Israel has supposedly in place to avoid such a tragedy or to avoid the magnitude of the of the attack, the impact of the attack has been such that they failed. And so there has been a demand to create a state commission, what would be the equivalent in Australia of a royal commission. But that has not been actually, you know, supported by the government, they have not called for such a state commitment commission, even though there is, there is the legislation for it. And so the idea is that, whether that commission is going to go ahead or not is one of the major thorns or the major issues in it. And Netanyahu supporters generally argue that, you know, that commission needs to be appointed not by the high court, which is the normal situation or the proper process that is in place to appoint state commission, because it's tangled with the arguments about the court system or the judiciary arm not being, being, I wouldn't say corrupt, but they see it as skewed and does not serve Israel properly. So if you remember, there was a judicial, there was an attempt at the judicial reform before the war. And so they don't trust the courts to appoint the commission, but so far it hasn't been appointed. So that's the first one. And really what we're talking about is people think that Netanyahu is responsible in some ways or large ways for the failure of the army and the system to protect Israeli citizens and therefore they want to see that commission happens. Netanyahu is the only one that hasn't left his position since then.

The chief of staff, the head of the security apparatus, they all resigned, but he hasn't. And so some people think he should and he supported things. It's not...

Hannah Hodson (4:01)

Can we talk about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? He's been in power for much of the past two decades. How much of this election is a referendum on his leadership, particularly following the October 7 attacks and the war in Gaza?

Michael Bartura (4:15)

Very much so.

So you could see that the entire opposition block, all the people who had the four major parties within the opposition blocks, and all of them are calling for him to complete or to move out of politics. Don't forget that he's been embroiled as well in some corruption cases and other allegation. And that's been the trial of which has been going on for a few years now. And so they think that he should move on and resign. There's been a conversation about him moving out of politics and then possibly liquid, then can become a player in the, not the opposition, but in new government. But as long as he's the head of government, they will not think about partnering with that fairly formidable in its terms of its size, the liquid.

So yeah, absolutely this is an election that takes to a question whether he should be in politics and continue to lead it or not.