BY SRH
Updated exit polls show Netanyahu bloc ahead or level with anti-Netanyahu bloc, Likud as biggest party; no clear path to majority for either side * Arab parties, hostile to Netanyahu, projected to win a record 18-19 seats
The rhetoric echoes a familiar campaign tactic employed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political allies, who have repeatedly sought to mobilize right-wing voters by stoking fears of Arab voter turnout and the prospect of a left-wing government supported by Arab parties.
Deri earlier this month declared that Shas will not join or support the next government unless it passes legislation preserving sweeping military service exemptions for Haredi yeshiva students.
The declaration follows a similar ultimatum from United Torah Judaism, the other major Haredi party, with which Shas signed a surplus-vote agreement ahead of today’s election.
During the evening of October 27, the counting of votes in Israel’s national election began, and exit polls conducted by Israeli media sources revealed that there was no obvious winner in a contest that involved multiple parties.
The Likud Party, which is led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was forecast to gain 24 seats, which is the most seats of any single party, according to early exit polling conducted by Israel’s Channel 12 television station. The same exit polls also revealed that a coalition of opposition parties is expected to gain approximately 52 seats collectively. This puts the opposition bloc in a leading position in the competition to establish a governing majority of at least 61 seats in Israel’s Knesset, which is comprised of 120 members.
It is anticipated that the final count of ballots will not be completed until the 30th of October, following which it will be announced on the 4th of November.
Netanyahu claims right-wing bloc won ‘decisive majority’ among Zionist public, plans to form ‘right-wing government’; Eisenkot had urged him to accept defeat and step down
We sat together, eyes fixed on the screen as the election results rolled in. Once again, the news anchor announced, “Still too close to call.” It wasn’t just this country—across the globe, every headline seemed to echo the same suspense, the same razor-thin margins.
We reached out to friends and family living in distant places, only to hear similar tales. “Our election ended with a split so narrow, it could have gone either way,” a cousin messaged from halfway around the world.
It struck us how, regardless of country or culture, people everywhere seemed evenly divided—each group passionately holding to their hopes, their fears, their vision for the future.
The closeness of these elections felt like more than just numbers. They were a sign of societies searching together for answers, wrestling with change, and longing to be heard. Though opinions differed, deep down we wondered if we all simply wanted the same things: to belong, to be understood, and to make a difference—even if we often disagreed on how best to achieve it.
