Israel's Leaders Define Victory Differently After Muddled Election

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, and Yair Golan all declared themselves winners of the election held on Tuesday, yet none of them used the same definition of the electorate. Because neither major political bloc secured a clear majority in parliament, each leader focused on a specific segment of the public to justify their claim. This approach allows different factions to point to favorable numbers within their chosen constituencies.

Netanyahu based his victory claim on support for Israel as a Jewish state. In his election night speech, he stated that Likud remains the largest party and that the right wing holds a decisive majority among the Zionist and Jewish public. This calculation includes his partners in the Haredi and far-right camps, such as Shas and United Torah Judaism, as well as the Jewish parties in the opposition. It excludes the Arab parties. The Haredi parties support the Jewish character of the state, which allows their votes to count toward Netanyahu’s total despite their resistance to universal conscription.

Naftali Bennett measured the outcome by military service rather than religious identity. He announced that the alliance of those who serve defeated the alliance of draft evaders. Bennett pledged to form a government centered on this group. His framing places the Haredi parties on the losing side, as they fit comfortably within Netanyahu’s definition of the Zionist public but oppose the shared burden of defense that Bennett emphasized.

Gadi Eisenkot offered a similar perspective to Bennett. He argued that Netanyahu faces a stronger Zionist majority and promised to build a government committed to conscription. Like Bennett, Eisenkot framed the result as a victory for voters who want military service distributed more equally across the population.

Avigdor Liberman took a different approach, appealing to Zionist tradition rather than specific demographics. He urged supporters of figures like Trumpeldor, Jabotinsky, and Herzl to rise up within Likud. His speech aimed to separate Likud voters’ Zionist loyalty from their loyalty to the prime minister, without making a direct claim of victory among a specific voting bloc.

Yair Golan adopted the broadest definition of the electorate. He cited the Israeli democratic majority and included Arab parties alongside the Jewish opposition in his calculations. Golan argued that Arab votes hold the same weight as Jewish votes, meaning the opposition holds a majority. This stands in direct contrast to Netanyahu, who excluded Arab parties and reached the opposite conclusion. Golan emphasized equal citizenship, stating that Arab voters do not need to pass extra tests for their votes to count.

The competing definitions of victory create uncertainty about the next steps. Leaders are currently trying to translate these differing calculations into a workable government.