An Israeli woman holds a national flag next to campaign posters of the Yashar party as she and others call on people to vote near Shtulim on October 15, 2026. Israel heads to the polls on October 27 in its first election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, in what is seen as a referendum on the prime minister.
Ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images
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Ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images
Israelis will vote in national elections next week. It’s the first vote since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the Gaza war. Many Israelis call it the most important vote in their country’s history.
On this episode of the Sunday Story, NPR’s Daniel Estrin reports on Israelis and how they’ve changed after three years of wars across the Middle East. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the world’s most controversial and consequential leaders, is seeking a seventh term. A former military chief of staff is his main challenger.
Now, as Israel faces a global backlash for its destructive war in Gaza, Israelis must decide: will they vote for change?
This episode was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy and edited by Jenny Schmidt. It was fact-checked by Will Chase and the engineer was Jimmy Keeley.
Additional reporting by Michael Levitt and Itay Stern, producing by Andrew Mambo, and editing by Carrie Kahn, James Hider and Nishant Dahiya.
We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at TheSundayStory@npr.org.
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