Israel’s elections may be a verdict on political Judaism

Israel's upcoming October elections will serve as a referendum on the rise of "political Judaism," a phenomenon gaining traction despite the rejection of political Islam in much of the Middle East. The three-month campaign, which began with the Knesset's dissolution, will see voters choose between the incumbent hard-right and less extreme political groups. Despite the hard-right's perceived failures in security and prosperity, and declining international sympathy for Israel, opinion polls suggest a continued entrenchment of political Judaism, encompassing both the religious-right Haredim and the religious far-right Zionists and settlers.

The war against Iran that began on 28 February was a fuse lit by Israel's extreme right.

This shift is notable as political Judaism, supported by the Israeli military and American neoconservatives, contrasts with the active opposition to political Islamist parties in the Arab world. Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki Al-Faisal warned that Israel's extreme right, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, initiated a war against Iran, drawing the US into the conflict and attempting to involve Gulf Cooperation Council states.