https://closeread.show/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/episodes/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/results/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/parties/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/method/2026-10-01 https://closeread.show/about/2026-10-01 https://closeread.show/subscribe/2026-10-01 https://closeread.show/support/2026-10-11 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/security/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/october-7/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/economy/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/housing/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/religion-and-state/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/judiciary/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/education/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/health/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/welfare/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/arab-citizens/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/immigration/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/topics/environment/2026-10-26 https://closeread.show/israel-2026/b-yachad/2026-10-01 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ic1yyC7Mc1g/maxresdefault.jpg What is each party promising? Starting with B'Yachad On October 27, Israelis vote for the 26th Knesset. Thirty-eight lists filed to run. If you read English and not much Hebrew, finding out what any of them plans to do once in office is harder than it should be. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ic1yyC7Mc1g 1077 2026-10-01T10:05:52Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/yashar/2026-10-01 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Wjw0GnIg3rA/maxresdefault.jpg Yashar: what they've published Gadi Eisenkot's party says its first government decision would be a state commission of inquiry into October 7, and it has already posted a draft of that decision for public comment. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wjw0GnIg3rA 723 2026-10-01T15:00:33Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/sharshar/2026-10-02 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3m5gAeGHqjw/maxresdefault.jpg Sharshar: what they've published I couldn't find a written platform for Sharshar. But its leader, Eitan Shvili, has named a handful of priorities on camera, and those are what this episode covers. https://www.youtube.com/embed/3m5gAeGHqjw 255 2026-10-02T06:00:00Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/partnership-for-everyone/2026-10-02 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2H-qsZVWxr4/maxresdefault.jpg Partnership for Everyone: what they've published I couldn't find a platform for Partnership for Everyone. What I could verify is one interview its leader gave on the day the list was filed, and one answer in it is about home demolitions. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2H-qsZVWxr4 270 2026-10-02T10:00:38Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/pirate-party/2026-10-04 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/roUUCr9s4c8/maxresdefault.jpg The Pirate Party: what they've published The Pirate Party's website says it wants to get rid of the electoral threshold, the minimum share of the vote a party needs to enter the Knesset. https://www.youtube.com/embed/roUUCr9s4c8 404 2026-10-04T06:00:11Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/amcha-yisrael/2026-10-04 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mSAAwi2U0_M/maxresdefault.jpg Amcha Yisrael: what they've published Ofer Winter's new party has a written platform that calls for a "voluntary emigration" plan for Gaza residents and says every Israeli citizen should do military or civil service, with housing and tax benefits tied to that service. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mSAAwi2U0_M 820 2026-10-04T14:00:08Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/israel-first/2026-10-05 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/367VZy7xCL8/maxresdefault.jpg Israel First: what they've published Israel First's work plan says every citizen should serve, in the army or in a civil national service, and that anyone who refuses would lose state benefits and housing assistance. https://www.youtube.com/embed/367VZy7xCL8 420 2026-10-05T05:00:31Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/garden-of-eden/2026-10-05 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vnAv8TkANm4/maxresdefault.jpg Garden of Eden: what they've published Garden of Eden proposes a National Jubilee program with debt relief and a basic income for citizens. The platform describes a gradual process, without a monthly payment figure or a blanket cancellation of all debt. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vnAv8TkANm4 681 2026-10-05T13:00:00Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/womens-voice/2026-10-06 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JcVrMUARhJM/maxresdefault.jpg Women's Voice: what they've published Women's Voice is on the ballot, but I couldn't find anything this list has published about what it would do. https://www.youtube.com/embed/JcVrMUARhJM 184 2026-10-06T05:00:13Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/together-we-will-succeed/2026-10-06 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uc2cdko7Z9g/maxresdefault.jpg Together We Will Succeed: what they've published Together We Will Succeed wants to repeal the law that makes military service compulsory, and replace it with a small professional army of people who choose to serve. https://www.youtube.com/embed/uc2cdko7Z9g 298 2026-10-06T13:00:29Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/yisrael-beiteinu/2026-10-07 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oxb6BgUsCGU/maxresdefault.jpg Yisrael Beiteinu: what they've published Yisrael Beiteinu says the first decision of the next government should be a state commission of inquiry into October 7. And it wants a draft law under which anyone who evades service loses state benefits, and deserters lose the right to vote. https://www.youtube.com/embed/oxb6BgUsCGU 761 2026-10-07T05:00:07Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/just-law/2026-10-07 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PbFrmW0GyYo/maxresdefault.jpg Mishpat Tzedek: what they've published I couldn't find anything Mishpat Tzedek has published for this election. The last platform I could find is from 2021, and it calls for an outside body with power to send criminal cases back for retrial. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PbFrmW0GyYo 292 2026-10-07T14:00:13Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/shema/2026-10-08 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/h__fdcOJhLU/maxresdefault.jpg Shema: what they've published Shema's platform says state support for homosexuality should be made illegal, and that people who cheat on their spouses should be punished. That platform is still on their website, but it was written for earlier elections, and they haven't published anything new for this one. https://www.youtube.com/embed/h__fdcOJhLU 397 2026-10-08T05:00:37Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/otzma-yehudit/2026-10-08 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ILUqoQ6NIB8/maxresdefault.jpg Otzma Yehudit: what they've published Otzma Yehudit's flagship plan for this election is a new government ministry to run what the party calls "voluntary emigration" from Gaza, with a target of about 1.86 million people leaving within seven years. https://www.youtube.com/embed/ILUqoQ6NIB8 581 2026-10-08T14:00:25Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/new-order/2026-10-09 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F55yWG999lQ/maxresdefault.jpg New Order: what they've published New Order wants a prime minister elected directly by the public, a Knesset elected by region, and ministers who aren't Knesset members. It wants all of that, plus a written constitution, put to a referendum. That's nearly its whole platform. https://www.youtube.com/embed/F55yWG999lQ 448 2026-10-09T05:00:38Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/reservists-economic-party/2026-10-09 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4GqwNpq34KM/maxresdefault.jpg The Reservists and the Economic Party: what they've published This list wants to cut VAT from 18 percent to 12 percent, and it wants anyone who skips military or civilian service to lose the right to vote. Those two ideas come from two different parties that are now running on one ballot slip. https://www.youtube.com/embed/4GqwNpq34KM 780 2026-10-09T12:00:16Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/the-democrats/2026-10-11 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CcYgYzzER_A/maxresdefault.jpg The Democrats: what they've published The Democrats say they'll pay combat reservists about 1,000 shekels for every day of reserve duty, on top of compensation for their lost income, and they put a price on it: about 10 billion shekels a year. That's one line from a platform site with 25 topic pages, each with its own PDF. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CcYgYzzER_A 755 2026-10-11T10:00:24Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/raam/2026-10-11 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XTL8XsG0ocI/maxresdefault.jpg Ra'am (United Arab List): what they've published Ra'am put out its first campaign brochure on October 10. It isn't labeled a platform, but it lists what the party says it will work on after the election, from a new plan against crime to more Arab members on the committees that approve building plans. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XTL8XsG0ocI 591 2026-10-11T14:00:25Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/shas/2026-10-12 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L2VAb5PWccY/maxresdefault.jpg Shas: what they've published Shas hasn't published a platform for this election. What it has published is a slogan, "I have chosen the way of faith," and a steady stream of statements about Torah study, the Jewish identity of the state, and the courts. https://www.youtube.com/embed/L2VAb5PWccY 588 2026-10-12T08:00:01Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/haredi-public/2026-10-12 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/U7ioVi4Ap7s/maxresdefault.jpg Haredi Public: what they've published Haredi Public says every Haredi man who isn't studying Torah full time should be required to serve, and that full-time yeshiva students should be protected from arrest. https://www.youtube.com/embed/U7ioVi4Ap7s 608 2026-10-12T13:00:38Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/you-and-me/2026-10-13 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/y8CZPOiGHpA/maxresdefault.jpg Me and You: what they've published Me and You says the way to lower the cost of living is for the state itself to enter markets like banking, credit, fuel, housing, and food as a central competitor. https://www.youtube.com/embed/y8CZPOiGHpA 555 2026-10-13T06:00:23Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/eternal-covenant/2026-10-13 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zyxTGmc2g1s/maxresdefault.jpg Brit Olam: what they've published I couldn't find a platform, a website, or a campaign account for Brit Olam. The only text in the party's own words is a list of goals on file with the Registrar of Parties. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zyxTGmc2g1s 264 2026-10-13T13:00:10Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/electoral-reform/2026-10-14 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KKjqiwTTixY/maxresdefault.jpg Tikun, the electoral reform list: what they've published Tikun wants to abolish political parties, elect every member of the Knesset by district, and let the Knesset appoint a prime minister who doesn't have to be a politician at all. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KKjqiwTTixY 434 2026-10-14T06:00:10Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/biblical-bloc/2026-10-14 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-nSooFm6ROQ/maxresdefault.jpg The Biblical Bloc: what they've published The Biblical Bloc's website hasn't been updated since the 2022 election. This year, its founder, Dennis Lipkin, has been laying out the party's goals in videos on his own YouTube channel, and those videos are most of what this episode covers. https://www.youtube.com/embed/-nSooFm6ROQ 397 2026-10-14T13:00:34Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/social-security/2026-10-15 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eGplCmw-AWY/maxresdefault.jpg Betach (Social Security): what they've published Betach hasn't published a platform for this election that I could find. The last platform it put out was for the April 2019 election, and it called for cutting VAT on food, electricity and household gas to ten percent. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eGplCmw-AWY 401 2026-10-15T06:00:09Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/dawns-light/2026-10-16 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mK35wKCbvH8/maxresdefault.jpg Orot HaShachar (Lights of Dawn): what they've published Orot HaShachar's platform says that any land the army captures in a future war stays in Israel's hands, and is not returned even under an international agreement. That's one of 53 numbered items in an eight-page document they posted for this election. https://www.youtube.com/embed/mK35wKCbvH8 602 2026-10-16T11:00:38Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/personal-security/2026-10-16 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDqhyGuA88/maxresdefault.jpg Personal Security: what they've published For the list called Personal Security, I couldn't find a platform, a website, a statement, or an interview in the material I reviewed. Here's where I looked. https://www.youtube.com/embed/EqDqhyGuA88 222 2026-10-16T13:00:03Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/the-color-black/2026-10-16 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9PjhO6Gb-Mw/maxresdefault.jpg Black Color (Tzeva Shachor): what they've published I couldn't find a platform for this list. What it has put out is one statement, and it says the list has a single goal: stopping what it calls the "draft decree" against yeshiva students. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9PjhO6Gb-Mw 265 2026-10-16T13:30:12Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/likud/2026-10-18 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4_XtPYpd5Nk/maxresdefault.jpg Likud: what they've published Likud has not published a platform for this election. One promise I did find in writing is from Benjamin Netanyahu's own Telegram channel: "As long as I am prime minister, no Palestinian state will be established, not in Gaza and not in Judea and Samaria." https://www.youtube.com/embed/4_XtPYpd5Nk 640 2026-10-18T05:00:24Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/blue-and-white/2026-10-18 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tUDp9PNtxwo/maxresdefault.jpg Blue and White: what they've published Blue and White's security plan says Israel should fix defense spending at no less than 100 billion shekels for the next ten years, and it sets 2028 as the deadline for removing what it calls the Iranian existential threat. That's one of about ten documents this party has put online, so let's go through them. https://www.youtube.com/embed/tUDp9PNtxwo 819 2026-10-18T13:00:27Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/religious-zionism-zehut/2026-10-19 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eYRJEEvGWsM/maxresdefault.jpg Religious Zionism-Zehut: what they've published This list is two parties sharing one ballot, and they never wrote a joint platform. Zehut's platform says the first law it would pass renames the country "Israel: the State of the Jewish People." Religious Zionism's judicial plan, released September 15, would end the state's right to appeal a criminal acquittal. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eYRJEEvGWsM 913 2026-10-19T05:00:02Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/achim-movement/2026-10-19 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DLkL3gniQig/maxresdefault.jpg Achi Movement: what they've published Achi proposes a 1,000-day teacher-training program and limits on social-worker caseloads. Those are two of the concrete commitments in its seven website pillars. https://www.youtube.com/embed/DLkL3gniQig 434 2026-10-19T10:00:00Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/beit-israel-junction/2026-10-19 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/v7ln-FcsGww/maxresdefault.jpg Tzomet Beit Israel: what they've published Tzomet Beit Israel's components publish service-linked housing proposals: a free plot in Tzomet's platform, and a state-backed mortgage guarantee in Beit Israel's housing chapter. They also publish different service models, so this episode keeps the component attribution visible. https://www.youtube.com/embed/v7ln-FcsGww 918 2026-10-19T14:00:21Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/redemption/2026-10-20 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7ZgwhYh6OzQ/maxresdefault.jpg Tekuma: what they've published Tekuma has no written platform that I could find. Its leader, Elkana Federman, has laid out his positions in short videos instead: disability ratings for Nova survivors and combat-trauma victims, immunity for soldiers, prison for those responsible for October 7, and dismantling the Palestinian Authority. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7ZgwhYh6OzQ 432 2026-10-20T05:00:16Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/joint-list/2026-10-20 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gvn_pye_6RY/maxresdefault.jpg The Joint List: what they've published The Joint List says it would cap rent at 20 percent of a family's net income and drop the interest on mortgages for first-time buyers. That's one line from one of the two plans they've put in writing, and today I'm going through both. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gvn_pye_6RY 625 2026-10-20T10:00:11Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/hakahal/2026-10-20 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eeVKIp3Tqj0/maxresdefault.jpg HaKahal: what they've published HaKahal proposes an independent Haredi service framework with the authority to take a soldier out of the army, even if the army objects, when his religious conditions are breached. That is part of its written draft proposal. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eeVKIp3Tqj0 703 2026-10-20T13:00:39Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/united-torah-judaism/2026-10-21 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PkVMZmFcLyk/maxresdefault.jpg United Torah Judaism: what they've published United Torah Judaism has no written platform for this election. What it has published is a short slogan on a campaign ad, "The right to be Haredi," next to the letter Gimel. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PkVMZmFcLyk 437 2026-10-21T05:00:16Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/noam/2026-10-21 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QaBgkg1SlDc/maxresdefault.jpg Noam L'Yisrael: what they've published Noam's website says a new teacher in Israel should earn no less than 12,000 shekels, and no class should have more than 22 students. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QaBgkg1SlDc 478 2026-10-21T10:00:22Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/issues/01-october-7/2026-10-26 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5mN5h0SCtLM/maxresdefault.jpg Who should investigate October 7? The major parties side by side Three years after October 7, Israel still has no commission of inquiry. Ask almost any major party whether there should be one, and the answer is yes. Ask who should pick the people who run it, and the country splits in two. That split is what this episode is about. https://www.youtube.com/embed/5mN5h0SCtLM 559 2026-10-21T13:00:12Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/issues/02-haredi-service/2026-10-26 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0p6gXsnkjTI/maxresdefault.jpg "Everyone should serve": what Israel's parties mean by it on the Haredi draft In the draft year that ended in June, 4,298 Haredi men enlisted in the army, more than the year before. This week the number of Israelis classified as draft evaders passed 110,000, and the military estimates about four in five of them are Haredi. Almost every major party now says some version of "everyone should serve." Listen closely and they mean very different things by it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/0p6gXsnkjTI 765 2026-10-22T04:00:11Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/issues/03-security/2026-10-26 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iqJUCJzMfxQ/maxresdefault.jpg Gaza after Hamas, and a Palestinian state: the major parties side by side Almost every major party in this election says there will be no Palestinian state, and almost all of them say Hamas can't go on ruling Gaza. Listen to them for a week and you'd think the country agrees on security. https://www.youtube.com/embed/iqJUCJzMfxQ 745 2026-10-23T04:00:05Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/issues/04-judiciary/2026-10-26 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HhCGkPeptYc/maxresdefault.jpg Who checks whom? Israel's major parties on the courts, side by side Two laws that change who controls Israel's legal system take effect right after this election. Nearly every major party has a plan for what comes next, and many of them use the same words to describe it. https://www.youtube.com/embed/HhCGkPeptYc 632 2026-10-25T05:00:35Z yes https://closeread.show/israel-2026/issues/05-cost-of-living/2026-10-26 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PS__-6xeTz4/maxresdefault.jpg Who pays for cheaper prices? Israel's parties on the cost of living, side by side Most of the major parties in this election promise to break the monopolies that keep Israeli prices high. Very few tell you how they would pay for the rest of their plans, in a year when the defense bill keeps growing. That gap is what this episode is about. https://www.youtube.com/embed/PS__-6xeTz4 594 2026-10-26T10:00:02Z yes