Voters Guide: By Martin Sherman

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/435061

The coming elections: A voter’s guide to Israel’s perplexing “polito-sphere"

The decision of whom not to vote for is no less consequential than that of whom to vote for.

Eizenkot, Netanyahu, and LibermanFlash 90

With the October 27th election approaching with disconcerting speed, the decision of whom to vote for is becoming increasingly persistent in the public consciousness.

But while wrestling with the dilemma of who to vote for, the inevitable converse quandary-of who not to vote for-is no less pertinent. Indeed, given the copious blemishes of most political parties, it is hardly surprising that numerous voters base their decision on election day on a process of elimination-i.e., on who not to vote for-with a sense of rejection rather than of attraction, having the greater role.

Bennett: Unprecedented deceit

Clearly, in my opinion, topping the list of whom voters should avoid is none other than Naftali Bennett, who has brought deceit and deception on the part of politicians seeking election to unprecedented heights-or is that “depths"? Readers will recall his breathtaking about-face when he reneged on his pledge (written and televised) not to facilitate leftist Yair Lapid becoming Prime Minister-"neither by rotation nor otherwise"-and then did precisely that.

No less grave was the fact that, in order to enable the establishment of a non-Netanyahu government, Bennett agreed to include the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Ra’am in his coalition. Indeed, on the very night of the election, Bennett declared with great flourish and fanfare: “I won’t allow Yair Lapid to be prime minister, including in a rotation (agreement)" and “I will not establish a government based on the support of Mansour Abbas from the Islamic Movement." He did both.

Apparently, for Bennett there is no taboo-social, security, or ethical - that he will not violate in his seemingly pathological pursuit of power. Accordingly, voters should avoid him like the political plague that I feel he is.

Liberman: Personal vindictiveness eclipses national interest

Next on the rung of the ladder of infamy is the odious Avigdor Liberman, the man to blame, more than any other, for the political deadlock that resulted in five elections in less than four years. Indeed, solely because of his personal enmity towards Netanyahu, Liberman preferred to partner with racial Left-wing elements and even with the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Ra’am, rather than serve in a Netanyahu-led government.

This choice comprised an act of twofold hypocrisy.

The first being that Liberman’s party repeatedly submitted/supported petitions to the Central Election Commission of the Knesset to bar Ra’am from taking part in the election on the grounds that the party does not conform to the provisions of Clause 7A of Israel’s Basic Law: The Knesset-which mandates(a) recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and (b) prohibition of support for armed struggle against Israel.

None of this prevented Liberman, as Minister of Finance, from approving the allocation of tens of billions of shekels to the Arab sector-raising concern that significant portions thereof might find their way into the coffers of Arab crime syndicates.

Secondly, Liberman’s barefaced hypocrisy was further amplified by the fact that although he has served in multiple pre-2019 coalitions that included Haredi factions, he suddenly insisted on ensuring Haredi conscription into the IDF as a condition for his joining Netanyahu’s government-this despite the fact that he initially recommended that Netanyahu be designated by then-President Rivlin for the premiership. Curiously, the fact that the Ra’am electorate does not serve in the IDF seems not to have bothered him in the slightest...

Lapid: Ensconcing anti-Zionists in positions of power

Thus, both Bennett and Liberman have proven that neither can be counted on to fulfill their election platform or their campaign promises. But worse, they have shown that they are quite capable of undertaking precisely what they pledged to avoid/prevent-and thus are utterly unworthy of the trust of the voters.

Another outstanding hypocrite is the current head (in name only) of the ineffectual opposition, Yair Lapid, who likewise provides the electorate with a myriad of reasons for not voting for him. Like Bennett and Liberman, he has demonstrated that he has scant regard for national interest. Thus, driven by his almost pathological Bibiphobic animus, he set up a government comprised of a motley collection of post/non/anti-Zionists, thus ensconcing radical extremists in positions of power, from which the general public has long wished to exclude them.

Likewise, readers will doubtless recall the scandalous concession of potentially resource-rich stretch of maritime waters adjacent to Lebanon, under the specious claim that this would placate Hezbollah and reduce the threat of hostilities with the Islamist terror group.

And we all know how splendidly that worked out!

Even more outrageous was his refusal to bring the measure to parliament for approval, under the shameless claim that the Knesset composition was not to his liking and unlikely to authorize/ratify the handover. No kidding!

Topping off Lapid’s list of ignominious misdeeds was his government's hurried appointment of Herzi Halevi as IDF Chief-of-Staff-at the very end of his incumbency as interim prime minister. Traditionally, interim governments are required to refrain from senior appointments so as not to impose such choice on any duly-elected successor government. Significantly, Halevi was later forced to resign in ignominy following the disastrous failure of the IDF in October 2023, something that reflects poorly both on Lapid’s judgement and on his utter (dis)regard for democratic principles.

Golan: The Despotic “Democrat"

Probably the easiest choice of whom not to vote for is Yair Golan, a former IDF general and deputy Chief-of-Staff. Thus, despite a measure of personal charm and charisma, he has allowed his animus toward his political rivals to eradicate any constraints on his political rhetoric-providing Israel’s most vehement foes with ample affirmation for their vitriolic condemnation of the Jewish state. Thus, while still in uniform, he alleged outrageously that he could identify in Israeli society developments reminiscent of the “abhorrent processes that took place in Europe, and Germany in particular" in the 1930s, lending credence to those accusing Israel of being a “fascist state". Later, as a deputy-minister in the short-lived Bennett-Lapid government, he himself adopted Nazi-like terminology, dubbing some of his fellow countrymen as “sub-human."

In 2024, Golan gathered up the shreds of the far-Left Mertz faction and remains of the once-hegemonic Labor party in a new party under his leadership, perversely named “The Democrats"-as his political credo seems antithetical to anything “democratic". Indeed, Golan has repeatedly threatened that if his party attained a position of power, it would shut down media channels and educational institutions, of whose political orientation he disapproves -all in the interests of “freedom of speech," of course. The prospective targets of Golan's future vindictiveness would, according to him, be the popular TV outlet Channel 14 and the legendary pre-military academy Eli, many of whose former students have given their lives and limbs in defense of the country in IDF combat units.

So, unless one is in favor of monolithic uniformity of thought and opinion, Yair Golan’s party is one to avoid.

Eisenkot: Exceptionally unequipped to PM post

Lastly, there is Gadi Eisenkot, currently the leading candidate to challenge Netanyahu for the premiership. Eisenkot, a former IDF Chief of Staff who served between 2015 and 2019, and together with his predecessors (Ehud Barak, Gabi Ashkenazi, Benny Gantz, Moshe Yaalon, Amnon Lipkin-Shachak) makes up half a dozen former IDF chiefs who tried-and failed to remove Netanyahu from power-sharply underscoring that military rank is a poor predictor of effective political leadership.

Indeed, a wide swathe of opinion in Israel points to Eisenkot’s misguided doctrine of restraint and moderation in Gaza as creating the conditions that precipitated the disastrous events of October 2023. Moreover, after retiring from the IDF, and during the war, he did little to dispel misgivings over his strategic judgement. Significantly, had his positions been accepted, the IDF would have been denied some of its most important achievements in Gaza, particularly regarding Rafah and the Philadelphia Route adjacent to the border with Egypt.

Today, even after all previous contenders have fallen by the wayside. Eisenkot is manifestly devoid of the qualities to lead Israel in these challenging times-most importantly a stiff backbone, and is acutely lacking international stature, governmental experience, and language skills.

And this is hardly time for on-the-job training.

An uncluttered view

So dear reader, having discarded all of the foregoing options from your list -along with the multitude of micro-splinter parties that have little chance of passing the 3.25% electoral threshold-and of course, the dominantly Arab anti-Zionist factions, you should now have an uncluttered view of whom to choose from 38 (!) parties that have registered for next week’s poll.

Choose wisely!

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/435061

Go at Your Own Pace

 

Parhsas Lech Lecha

There were several stages to Avram’s life journey from the idolatrous background from which he came to the ultimate destination of becoming the great Jewish nation. He had to leave his home town. He had to leave his parents behind. He had to sever ties with all his relatives, including his nephew Lot. He had to travel to an unknown country whose identity was not revealed to him when he started out on the journey.

But all of these things did not happen all at once. They had to happen gradually at Avram’s pace, not at G-d’s pace. That is the meaning of Lech Lecha, go at your own pace. Transforming a person from a believer in idols to a believer in G-d does not happen overnight. What happens too fast in indigestible. It was Avram who recognized his Creator. It was not His creator who forced this recognition on Avram. He had to come to this realization on his own. And the various stages of the journey culminating in the formation of the Jewish nation in its own land also had to be embarked upon in stages.

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing” (12:2). The Hebrew word for “you shall be” used by the Torah here is “Ve’heyeh,” written in the imperative tense. Great empires enjoyed their heyday for a while and then faded into oblivion. The great Jewish nation will never be referred to in the past tense, because the blessing G-d gave to Abraham will never recede. The Jewish nation will always survive and be a blessing to the other nations.

The blessing that we have been given and that will never fade is on two levels – the spiritual and the physical. On the spiritual level, the Torah, which has been given to us, will never become old. Each time we study it, we reveal something new that we never saw before. The Maseches Berachos we begin to learn today seems entirely different from the one we learned seven years ago. And on the physical level, the blessing of prosperity G-d gives will also not become a gift of the past. “Veysihmerechah” – G-d will protect us from the corrupting influence of money and from the envy of others.

So Avram travels on until he reaches Shechem in the land of Canaan. Shechem is a trouble spot. That is where they would torture Dinah, where Shimon and Levi would kill all its inhabitants, where Yosef’s brothers would try to kill him and where the kingdom of David would be torn asunder (Sanhedrin 102a). Indeed, the entire nation of Canaan was so corrupt that the Torah tells us never to emulate their ways (Bamidbar 18:3). On the other hand, the city of Shechem is also known as Elon Moreh (Rashi 12:6), the place where the Jewish people at Har Gerizim and Har Eival would accept the Torah and take collective responsibility for its fulfillment. So Avram was confused. Is this the land that G-d meant when He ordered me to go to the Land that “I will show you”? Is it possible that a land that bred such hateful people could be the Promised Land? And the answer he gets from G-d is yes, indeed this is the land I meant to show you. It breeds people who have the potential to be passionate about good or about evil. As it says, “Where there is justice, there is also evil” (Koheles 3:16). It is the same people who are capable of immense evil who are also capable of immense goodness. It all depends upon where they channel their passion.

So Avram traveled south and set up his tent for the night between the cities of Bet El to the west and Ai to the east (12:8). Ai was the place where the Israelites in the future would suffer their first defeat in the battle for the conquest of the land (Yehoshua 7:2-9). The defeat came as a result of the greed of Achan who helped himself to the spoils of war after G-d crushed the city of Yericho, even though G-d has explicitly forbidden the Jews to do so. But Achan was too selfish to care. We are told that when Avram saw the city of Ai on his way down south, he had a vision of the future battle of Ai and so he first pitched the tent of his wife Sarai and only then did he pitch his own tent (Rashi 12:8). This was a corrective act aimed at trying to coach the Jewish people into concern and consideration for others and to warn them against acts self centeredness like those of Achan that led to disaster at Ai.

Avram continued on his journey down south, headed for Yerushalayim where the Beit Hamikdash would be erected (12:9). But he was rerouted by G-d to Egypt due to a famine which had broken out in Canaan.

Why this sudden change of destination? It was because G-d had to lay the ground for the future 210-year stay of the Jews in Egypt. We are told that when the Jews left Egypt, there were those who questioned their pure pedigree suggesting that the Egyptians who had enslaved them, had also coerced their wives into relations with them, as captors typically do (Rashi, Bamidbar 26:5). But in fact this did not happen for the following reason. The Egyptians at the time of the slavery of the Jews did not dare touch the Jewish women because they knew what had happened to their ancestor who tried that before. The story was recorded in their history books, just as it is recorded in the Torah, as it says, “And G-d struck Pharaoh and his palace with severe plagues because of Avram’s wife Sarai.”

In addition, when Pharaoh sent Avram and Sarai away (12:20), he awarded Sarai the land of Goshen (Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer 26). The land of Goshen was therefore recorded in the registries of Egypt as belonging to the Jews and was later handed over by Pharaoh to Yaakov and his eleven sons when they arrived in Egypt (46:34).

So even though G-d had told Avram to go to the land of Canaan, and now there was an inexplicable change of plan and he was told to go to Egypt, Avram knew better than to question G-d’s ways. He trusted that there were reasons for this diversion that would become clear later on, even though he did not understand them at the time (Rashi 12:10).

jewishpress.com/go-at-your-own-pace/

Israeli families establish ‘Pioneers of Gaza’ community as first step toward resettlement

 

The inauguration of the community of Halutzei Gaza (Pioneers of Gaza), near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, 

Oct. 16, 2026. Credit: Courtesy of Nachala.

The Nachala Movement says 1,500 families are waiting to move into the Strip, as supporters call for the renewal of communities dismantled in 2005.

(Oct. 23, 2026 / JNS)

Fifteen Israeli families moved into the new Jewish community of Halutzei Gaza (Pioneers of Gaza), in the Simhoni Forest near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, last week, viewing the community as a stepping stone toward their goal of reestablishing Jewish communities inside the Gaza Strip.

The initiative is the brainchild of the Nachala Settlement Movement, which has long advocated for the return of Jewish communities to Gaza, particularly since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. The movement seeks to reverse the results of Israel’s 2005 disengagement, which led to the dismantling of all of 21 Jewish communities in Gaza and four in northern Samaria.

Lital Slonim, one of the directors of Nachala, told JNS that the new community, made up of caravans, was intended as a temporary arrangement, as the Israeli government has not yet authorized Jewish civilians to return to Gaza. The location was chosen deliberately, with Gaza in full view.

Slonim said Nachala has a waiting list of 1,500 Israeli families committed to resettling Gaza once authorized.

She added that Nachala has drawn up architectural plans for future Jewish communities in Gaza and is waiting for the green light to move forward.

Slonim said that, in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre, many Israelis came to realize that maintaining the status quo was untenable from a security perspective.

“The only way to ensure security and maintain safety is to establish Jewish communities. You must have boots on the ground,” she said.

According to Slonim, more than 80% of the current governing coalition supports the renewal of Jewish life in Gaza. She said the establishment of the temporary site is intended to send a clear message to the government: “We are demanding that the government let us go in.”

More than 100 people attended an opening event for Halutzei Gaza last Thursday night, followed by more than 700 Israelis who spent Shabbat at the new community the following day, Slonim said, demonstrating their support for the initiative.

Relatives of Israelis slain in Gaza during the current war, now in its fourth year, were among those who attended. Slonim said these families want to ensure their loved ones did not die in vain, but that their sacrifices lead to the renewal of Jewish life in Gaza.

“The families want to see settlement. They understand our enemies need to lose the land they are standing on,” she said.

One such family was that of Staff Sgt. Yishay Fitusi, a Golani Brigade soldier who was killed fighting Hamas at the Nahal Oz military outpost on Oct. 7, 2023.

The Fitusi family has a personal connection to the campaign to renew Jewish settlement in Gaza. They lived in Gush Katif, the bloc of Jewish communities in southern and central Gaza dismantled during the 2005 disengagement.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit clarified to JNS that, due to the presence of civilians in the area as part of Nachala’s activities, the military was forced to restrict access to certain roads, but not communities, adjacent to the Gaza border fence.

At the same time the Israel Police Spokesperson’s Unit told JNS it received a complaint from the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) regarding unauthorized entry into Simhoni Forest, and the construction of structures at the site without authorization.

The spokesperson said the complaint is being handled in accordance with the police’s legal authority and in coordination with the relevant authorities.

Slonim stressed that the community’s physical location is only temporary and the organization has tremendous political support for its activities in the area.

The inauguration of the community of Halutzei Gaza (Pioneers of Gaza), near the northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 16, 2026. Credit: Courtesy of Nachala.

‘The forefront of Zionism in our generation’

Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, who attended the community’s opening event, told JNS that she supports the “heroic pioneers of the Nachala” Movement and the families who moved into the community.

“These remarkable people are not content with talk and declarations,” she said. “They get up and take action, erecting structures, bringing in families, and leading with their own bodies and spirits the historic movement to return to the Gaza region.”

Those involved “are at the forefront of Zionism in our generation,” Son Har-Melech said. “They deserve every expression of appreciation, every show of support, and every form of assistance. I salute them and am proud to stand by their side.”

Religious Zionist party MK Ohad Tal also told JNS that he supports Nachala’s efforts to reestablish Jewish life in Gaza.

Last Friday after the community’s opening event he posted on X saying:

“Tonight, the community of ‘Pioneers of Gaza’ was established near the security fence.

“Mr. Prime Minister, the only way to defeat Hamas and achieve total victory is through Jewish settlement on the land that has returned to our hands through the blood of our holy sons!

“The time has come to move ‘Pioneers of Gaza’ into the northern buffer area [in Gaza] which unquestionably must remain in Israeli hands.

“Mr. Prime Minister, [@netanyahu]—we stand behind you in carrying out this Zionist and rightful act!”

Following last week’s events, Nachala issued a similar statement calling for the community to be relocated to Gaza’s northern buffer zone, an area currently under IDF control.

“Gaza is an inseparable part of the Land of Israel, and only taking territory and establishing settlements will firmly imprint a clear consciousness of defeat on the enemy,” the group said.

The inauguration of the community of Halutzei Gaza (Pioneers of Gaza), near Kibbutz Kfar Aza,

Oct. 16, 2026. Credit: Courtesy of Nachala.

Josh Hasten

Josh Hasten is a Middle East correspondent for JNS. He is co-host of the JNS podcast “Jerusalem Minute,” as well as the host of the JNS podcast “Judeacation.” He also hosts the weekly radio program “Israel Uncensored” on “The Land of Israel Radio Network.” An award-winning freelance journalist, he writes regularly for JNS and other publications. He is also a sought-after guest for television and radio interviews on current events in Israel, having appeared on CNN, BBC, Sky News, Fox, APTV, WABC, ILTV, i24News, and many others.

https://www.jns.org/israeli-families-establish-pioneers-of-gaza-community-as-first-step-toward-resettlement