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A man ties a Netanyahu election sign at Jerusalem’s Mahne Yehuda Market. Credit: Itay Cohen
A man ties a Netanyahu election sign at Jerusalem’s Mahne Yehuda Market. Credit: Itay Cohen
Israel’s elections, now only six days away, will be decided by whatever proportion of its 7.3 million eligible voters turn up at the polling stations – and the signs are that turnout will be high. These elections are momentous for Israel – the repercussions will be felt way beyond the 120 politicians who will win places in the Knesset. Yet they will also resonate far beyond even the country itself: its elections will affect millions who aren’t even voting.
In the past, hasbara advocates liked to boast that diminutive Israel punched above its weight. These days, the fact that Israel is a pivotal factor in the domestic debates on campus, in the streets and corporate offices of so many other countries is more often a curse, self-inflicted or not, rather than a blessing.
Whether this election sees the end of the decades-long Netanyahu era or its continuation will have far reaching effects across the globe on day-to-day lives, from members of the Jewish and Palestinian diasporas to investors, publishers and human rights activists.