Election Rhetoric: The Cost of Calling Every Vote the Most Fateful

One in five recent Israeli election campaigns have claimed to be the most fateful in the country's history, a pattern identified by political scientist Danny Kushmaro. He notes that this specific phrasing has become a standard refrain for candidates and commentators alike as the October 2026 vote approaches.

Kushmaro argues that this language is not merely hyperbolic but carries specific political consequences. By framing the contest as an existential battle between pro-Netanyahu and anti-Netanyahu blocs, the rhetoric transforms a standard change in government into a matter of national survival. This shift makes it harder for the losing side to accept defeat as a temporary setback that can be corrected in the next cycle.

The danger, according to Kushmaro, lies in the perception that the country cannot survive if one specific side does not win. This view complicates the fundamental democratic process where the losing party must eventually cede power to the winner. Since 2021, Israel has faced challenges beyond simple governance questions, specifically regarding whether the losing faction will allow the other to rule effectively.

The tension began before Naftali Bennett took office in 2021. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the formation of the new government as the greatest election fraud. Although he referred to broken campaign promises rather than stolen ballots, the terminology cast a legitimately formed government as illegitimate. The opposition subsequently worked to dismantle the Bennett administration, often voting against legislation it supported to weaken the slim coalition majority.

In May 2022, Likud MK Miri Regev defended voting against measures benefiting soldiers and vulnerable groups. She argued that the overriding objective was to topple the coalition, a strategy that consumed much of the government's short life. When Netanyahu won the 2022 election and formed a hard-right government, the dynamic reversed.

Yair Lapid conceded the 2022 vote and arranged an orderly handover of power. However, as opposition to the judicial overhaul grew, the language of illegitimacy resurfaced. At a massive demonstration in Tel Aviv in April 2023, former Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin stated that while the government was elected legally, it was morally illegitimate due to its appalling composition and reprehensible actions.