{"id":39140,"date":"2026-11-02T00:49:34","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T05:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/?p=39140"},"modified":"2026-11-02T00:49:57","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T05:49:57","slug":"ukraine-and-the-2026-elections-in-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/ukraine-and-the-2026-elections-in-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine and the 2026 elections in Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Let us examine the recent elections and their outcomes through the lens of Israel-Ukraine. What political preferences did Israelis of Ukrainian origin express? What are the prospects for strengthening the Israel-Ukraine partnership following these elections?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The winners of the 27 October 2026 elections in Israel remain undetermined; the vote count has resulted in a stalemate, with neither the right-wing nor the left-wing bloc able to secure a majority in the Knesset \u2014 a situation compounded by a sharp increase in the number of Arab members of parliament. A return to the polls in early 2027 cannot be ruled out.<\/p>\n

Comparing the elections of 2022 and 2026, one striking observation is the noticeable decline in the prominence of the Ukraine issue within pre-election discourse.<\/p>\n

The elections held on 1 November 2022 took place at the height of international interest in Ukraine, during the initial months of Russia's full-scale invasion. At the time, Ukraine dominated headlines in the Israeli media. Israelis felt sympathy for the Ukrainians fighting for their country and actively pressed their politicians for answers regarding their stance on the war and potential aid to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

It is worth recalling that in March 2022, then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett traveled to meet Vladimir Putin and later brought a proposal for Ukraine's capitulation to President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemned Russia's aggression and spoke eloquently about solidarity with Ukraine \u2014 yet beyond these words, no concrete action was taken.<\/p>\n

In reality, then-Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked \u2014 a member of Bennett's party \u2014 had already closed Israel's borders to Ukrainian refugees as early as 14 March 2022. Israel's Finance Minister, Avigdor Liberman (leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party), did not respond to Ukraine's request for a loan in the summer of 2022. Meanwhile, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, from the left-wing Meretz party, failed to fulfill his promise to provide medical treatment in Israel to dozens of wounded Ukrainian soldiers.<\/p>\n

Between 2023 and 2026, Benjamin Netanyahu's government was preoccupied with military operations across seven fronts in the Middle East; against this backdrop, Ukraine became far less pressing for Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The elections on 27 October 2026 took place in a vastly different Israel \u2014 a nation that had itself endured three grueling years following the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas terrorists from Gaza against Israeli civilians.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, after five years of war in Ukraine, the subject had become \"normal.\" Fatigue from Israel's own conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran \u2014 compounded by a decline in coverage regarding Ukraine across major Hebrew-language media outlets \u2014 meant that for many Israelis, the Ukrainian issue had receded into the background.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to the 2026 elections, there was a sharp intensification in bilateral relations between Israel and Ukraine, driven by a growing recognition that both nations face common threats from the hostile Iran-Russia axis.<\/p>\n

According to Yevhen Korniychuk, Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel, the level of partnership between Israel and Ukraine in September and October 2026 surpassed anything seen in the preceding four years.<\/p>\n

During these autumn weeks, Member of Knesset and Minister Ze'ev Elkin visited Kyiv, where he held meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. The Babyn Yar Memorial in Kyiv and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem signed a cooperation agreement.<\/p>\n

Another significant development was the signing of a special cooperation agreement between Israel's and Ukraine's security and defense agencies.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, following the 2026 elections, Ze'ev Elkin \u2014 a long-standing driving force behind the Israel-Ukraine partnership \u2014 did not secure a seat in the new Knesset; he was placed 32nd on the Likud party list, which won only 27 seats in the Israeli parliament.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu: lessons from the war in Ukraine for Israel<\/strong>
\nA week before the election, Netanyahu stated that following Ukrainian strikes on data centers in Russia, there had been a 60% drop in the activity of fake social media accounts that had been inciting antisemitism and fueling internal discord within Israel. The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry immediately responded, asserting that \"Russia has never engaged in anything of the sort\" and accusing the Israeli Prime Minister of \"shifting the blame from a sick head to a healthy one.\"<\/p>\n

I had the opportunity to pose a direct question to the Prime Minister of Israel regarding Ukraine just before midnight on 27 October 2026 during the head of government's final meeting with media on the eve of the election.<\/p>\n

My question to Benjamin Netanyahu was:<\/p>\n

\u2014 \"What lessons is Israel learning from the experience of the war between Russia and Ukraine? Do you see a connection between this war and our own conflicts involving Iran \u2014 given that Iranian drones are attacking Ukrainian cities, posing a threat to Israel as well?\"<\/p>\n

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Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the elections. (Photo: Shimon Briman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The response from the prime minister was:<\/p>\n

\u2014 \"The newest and most significant development concerns drones. Drones represent the primary and most substantial shift.<\/p>\n

We [in Israel] are devising highly creative solutions. I've described this as a sort of 'Manhattan Project' involving our top scientists \u2014 including military officers who specialize in countering these drones while also possessing deep technical expertise. We are effectively addressing this challenge. There are fiber-optic-guided drones, FPV drones, and various other developments; artificial intelligence is also being utilized for specific tasks. Ultimately, technology will prevail.<\/p>\n

What Ukraine has learned \u2014 and what the entire world is currently analyzing \u2014 is how to fight against drones, as well as how to wage war using drones. This is the most significant change; it is the most profound impact the war in Ukraine has had on the global stage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While not everyone may fully grasp this, we [in Israel] are making massive investments in this area.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Iran has clearly supplied these assets to Russia, which naturally runs counter to our interests \u2014 that is as clear as day.<\/p>\n

But I believe that our path represents a colossal breakthrough for our defense enterprises, including startups. It encompasses a multitude of interconnected areas in which we are investing, and I am confident that we will provide the world with solutions \u2014 both in the realm of drones themselves and in defense against them.\"<\/p>\n

What will (and won't) change after the 2026 elections?
\n<\/strong>Based on my observations within Israel's pro-Ukrainian community and on social media, the votes of Israelis who support Ukraine were split roughly as follows: one-third supported parties within Benjamin Netanyahu's current right-wing coalition. In contrast, two-thirds voted for parties in the center-left opposition.<\/p>\n

In other words, pro-Ukrainian Israelis held a fairly wide spectrum of views. A telling example comes from the two co-chairs of the NGO Israeli Friends of Ukraine: Vyacheslav Feldman supported Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, while Anna Zharova supported Naftali Bennett's Beyakhad party.<\/p>\n

In my view, the hope held by some Ukrainian experts \u2014 that a change in government and the arrival of a different politician in the Prime Minister's office would lead to a sharp shift in Israel's stance toward Ukraine \u2014 is an illusion.<\/p>\n

Any prime minister \u2014 whether from the right or the left \u2014 will make decisions regarding the Russia-Ukraine war based primarily on Israel's own security interests. If strengthening cooperation with Kyiv were to jeopardize relations with Moscow, create a risk of Russian weaponry reaching Israel's enemies, or pose a threat to Jewish communities in Russia, no prime minister would pursue it.<\/p>\n

Conversely, if the benefits and tangible outcomes of cooperation with Ukraine were clear and significant, any Israeli prime minister might well support deepening the partnership between Jerusalem and Kyiv.<\/p>\n

An example of such targeted, direct cooperation is the effort to counter Iranian-made jet-powered drones \u2014 a topic I raised in the question to Prime Minister Netanyahu. What is striking Ukrainian cities today could strike Israeli cities tomorrow. These variants of drones pose a danger both to Ukraine and, potentially, to Israel.<\/p>\n

In the summer and autumn of 2026, Ukraine provided Israel with fragments and intact specimens of Geran jet-powered attack drones. Israeli military experts are currently working on developing technological solutions to counter such drones \u2014 efforts that could, in turn, also prove useful for the defense of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

It is worth noting the alarming fact that just two days after the elections in Israel \u2014 on 29 October 2026 \u2014 a vessel chartered by the Israeli shipping company ZIM was attacked by three Russian surface drones and sunk off the coast of Bulgaria. The ship was carrying 430 containers of cargo destined for delivery from Haifa to Constan\u021ba, Romania.<\/p>\n

I can only assume that such a barbaric and brazen attack was a signal from Moscow against the strengthening of Israel's cooperation with Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Text and photos: Shimon Briman (Israel).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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