Travel:Tel-Aviv, IsraelI Elections-Visit.🇮🇱 Oct. 21st to Nov.2nd/2026
Updated: 3 hours ago
Two weeks of a visit at Italy Bianale Art exhibit in Venice (here) and to the Dolomite (here) ended with our landing in Israel, on Oct 21st , just a week prior to Israel's most crucial Legislative Elections, (Oct 27th) to elect the 120 members of the 26th Knesset that would determine the next Governing Coalition to succeed the 37th government
led by PM Benjamin Netanyahu..His ruling for the past almost consecutive 17 yeas mainly brought disaster and disaster on the country..
Along with us, many thousand of Israelis estimated at 65,000 (much more than ever before in previous elections) flocked from many countries around the world, and specially flew in to Israel to cast their vote in this election, determine to bring about a change to the future of the battered country.
The US based UnXrptable Israeli movement named the initiative Replacement Flight
Long prior to the 2026 Elections, 2/3 of the Israelis (67%) had felt that Netanyau's Gov. policies did'nt represent their will,
The hostile sentiment against the PM, who was perceived as gambling on the future of their lives and that of the country, to hold onto his seat, only grew in animosity, rage, and destine, as was reflected in the on going protests leading up to the election.
Evading & Plastering the Disasters
Go Bibi Go
The hope was that a larger voters' rate, than in the 2022 election, and a bigger Change Block, opposing Netanyahu would gain a land-slide victory,
Much effort was invested by opposition parties and liberal civil movements to motivate as many as possible civilians, to drop indifference and commit to voting.
3 days prior to election's date (on Saturday, Oct 24th), tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in a rally at Hostages' Square in Tel Aviv, in which we also participated, and which was organized by the October Council, a group representing families and friends of victims and survivors of the October 7 attacks. The grieving families and survivors urged voters not to forget the events of October 7.
The protesters called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the security and government failures surrounding the October 7 attacks, and demanded the ousting of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Following the Election date, which miraculously was carried peacefully,
on the early morning of Oct 28th, it was reported that out of the 7,33 M eligible voters a very high turn-out of 7.8 % ( More than 5.17 million) materialized their voting rights, and the sample results predicted a big victory to the Change Block
A false Optimism
With sampling about 57% of the vote counted, the parties opposing Netanyahu had about 51% of the vote and 65 of 120 seats. Netanyahu's bloc was stuck at 44% and 55 seats.*
However the high expectation and too early optimism soon burst the bubble and transformed into a catatonic disappointment.
When more than 88% of ballots have been counted in Israel, it was realized that with the Netanyahu-led bloc at a projected 53 seats, the opposition bloc at 48 seats, and the Arab party bloc at 19 seats. the results were complicated.
The public did not renew their mandate. to the Netanyahu block, The 68-seat coalition is gone, and they're now well short of 61.
The coalition block lost 15 of the parliamentary vote . Of a block of 68 in the previous election (2022) it came down to 53 loosing the parliamentary majority which is a dramatic change
Real Results
Blue: Eizenkot Block Red: Netanyahu's Block
The Change Block Arab Members Right Wing Block
The Jewish Opposition Block consisting of 4 major elected parties, moved from 52 parliamentary vote to 57% of the voters which are 67 MK members (out of 120 seats) and combined with 19 MK members of Arab parties, the parties totaled to the larger victorious. block 67> 53
Netanyahu's "Likud" party got more of the electoral vote - 27, but less in his total Right Wing Block, He officially lost his majority in parliament
While Eizenkot the head of the largest opposition party "Yashar" got less of the electoral vote - 21, but more in the total Change block when the Arab parties are included.
Non have the needed 61 majority vote to form a stable functioning Gov without the Arab parties, that made an historic gain.
This fact triggered a fountain squirt of stinky racism campaign initiated directly by Netanyahu's office, but also a gushing forth from with-in several parties of the Change Block, claiming that including Arabs in the to be form Gov. is a recipe for a political disaster and the end of Jewish ruling.
The Responsible Ones Lost
Although the elections have yielded no absolute winner, neither Netanyahu, nor the Opposition parties, could immediately form a Gov,
Sadly also the opposition bloc refused to ally initially with Arab parties. although later some budding contacts were taking place between elements in the Change Bloc and the Arab Joint List for the purpose of coordinating steps in the Knesset after the elections, in the event that they end without a decision - this was announced on Tuesday Nov 3rd .
Considering that Netanyahu's advisors (if not himself) were on Qartar's pay-role, as to bleach Qatar's infamous image with false engineering mindfulness, thus rejecting Arab legitimate political representation, is the ultimate boorish hypocrisy, as is his offering Abbas party "exclusivity"at the previous 2022 elections..
Leading opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot and several Arab-led party leaders, later lambasted PM Netanyahu for alleging that an alleged foreign interference scheme had “stolen” Tuesday’s election, as the premier’s allies lined up to demand interrogations and arrests of Arab politicians.
This despicable scheme was already concocted, prior to the election as was reported by the media.
ָ Agent of Chaos
Netanyahu's allegation are perceived as his efforts to delegitimize the Arab vote and the elections However they seem not to get traction. The Election body confirmed that deadlocked result won’t be undermined even if foreign interference claims are found to be true, as if any interference actually did occur it was insignificant.
Casting my vote at the at the poling station >>>
308,000 ballots were wasted on 2 newly formed parties that failed to reach the election quorum which is about 185,00, each, missing only 30,000 ballots for a quorum, and about 30,000 ballots were disqualified.
Disappointingly only 65.5% voted in In Tel Aviv - the bastion city of liberalism
Following the endorsement of the elected parties, On Nov 4th also the head of elective parties and president Hetzog would cast their recommendation on whose party's head would be recommended to get the first chance to form the new Gov.
Netanyahu's wish for an attack on Iran a head of Israeli election which was curbed by President Trump, and then his wish to deflect the change of Gov, following the non-decisive election's result, so far were halted.
Yet in the mean time it was reported that the drum-beat of a resumed war against Iran, did transform into a limited live explosions.
The US has launched strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz,(Nov 2nd) US officials have told CBS, the BBC's US partner.
As things have unraveled, in the post- election "boxing match" the Extreme Right block has been pressing through the Internal Security Services (which should be non-political) to interrogate senior Arab MKs amid Election interference, while Eisenkot have accused Netanyahu, in response, of attempting to undermine public trust in election result.
The disgust with the Political Candelabrum as mitigated by Cultural Escapism
Our visit was short and not very sweet, to say the least, as related to the Election's outcome. Furthermore, Netanyahu's creation of "blue and white shirts" thugs,
who have been harassing and persecuting leaders and members of the Change Block, along with his "Poison Machine", that have continued spouting venomous curses, lies divisiveness and hate, following the election results, further added to the unsettling worries about Israel's political future.
The ambiguity about the political turnout, the circus efforts to politically "square the circle" of conflicting aims and ideologies, combined with the-eruption of ugly racism against 20 % of Arab Israel citizens, and the wars' drum-beat, which have been echoed both by Trump and Netanyhu, all beg an intervention of a Super Intelligence miracle..
to engineer an acceptable workable political entity that will prevent a civil unrest, and would run the country sanely and effectively.
Though this mess clouded the joy of our visit, some, yet, was mitigated thanks to seeing our dear friends and few cousins, as well as by consuming few cultural distractions.
Attending 3 museum's Exhibitions and 6 theater plays sugar coated the heavy national "plontter" - quandary, and somber on the verge of explosive atmosphere.
Alex Libak at Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
Alex Libak - first comprehensive Photography solo exhibition, titled
"Alex Libak: Black Box" runs from October 26, 2026, through May 1, 2027, at the Eyal Ofer Pavilion in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. (previously Helena Rubinstein by Habima)
Libak is one of Israel's most prominent and influential documentary and humanist photographers.
Born in 1944, Libak has spent over four decades documenting both defining historical moments and the raw, everyday routines of street life in Israel. His work balances humor, horror, social criticism, and deep empathy
He is well known for collections such as Photographs: Our Country, capturing the multifaceted layers of Israeli society
The show features over 200 photographs spanning his studies in London, his travels to Brazil and the Amazon, and his return to Israel in 1981
Noma Bar - "Look Again" -at Tel Aviv Museum
Born Avinoam Bernstein in Afula, Israel, in 1973, Noma Bar studied Visual Communication at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem.
His fantastic illustrations have been featured for the past 25 years, on the covers of leading newspapers and magazines, including The New Yorker, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Economist, and Time Out, and also appeared on the covers of bestselling novels by Margaret Atwood and Haruki Murakami as well as on global brands such as Apple, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), and Netflix.
"Shabtai Zvi – Truth or Lie" in Jerusalem
The Exhibit on Shabtai Zvi - at the
L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem, commemorates the 400th anniversary of Shabtai Zvi's birth
The exhibition traces the transformation of his image over four centuries and across cultures—from a celebrated Messiah to a controversial and tragic, most probably a Bi-Polar figure.
Who was Shabtai Zvi=Aziz Mehmed Efendi.
Born in 1626 in İzmir, Shabtai Zvi was a 17th-C Jewish mystic, rabbi, and false Messiah from Smyrna Ottoman Empire (modern-day İzmir, Turkey) who founded the Sabbatean movement.
Proclaimed himself the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, with backing from figures like Nathan of Gaza, the massive messianic movement he sparked captivated Jewish communities across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East in the mid-1660s
He promoted the controversial doctrine that the Messianic Age inverted traditional laws, encouraging the deliberate violation of Jewish commandments and sacred rituals.
(viewing "redemption through sin")
The theology of Shabtai Zvi and his prophet, Nathan of Gaza represents one of the most radical, influential, and disruptive developments in Jewish mysticism.
Rooted deeply in the Kabbalistic traditions of 16 C Isaac Luria (Lurianic Kabbalah), Sabbatean theology flipped traditional Jewish observance on its head by asserting that the arrival of the Messianic Age altered cosmic laws.
The most revolutionary concept of Sabbateanism was the abrogation of the Torah's commandments. Zvi taught that with the dawning of the Messianic Age, the spiritual reality of the cosmos had fundamentally changed.
The Transmutation of Law: Laws that traditionally prohibited certain actions were overturned. Acts and transgressions that were previously considered sinful were transformed into holy and righteous acts. Zvi famously created a new blessing: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord... who permits the forbidden."
Followers engaged in deliberate violations of Jewish law (halakha), eating forbidden fats, pronouncing the tetragrammaton (the forbidden name of God), and abolishing traditional fast days—turning the somber fast of Tisha B'Av into a day of feasting. He operated strictly within Lurianic Kabbalah, which teaches that divine sparks of holy light are trapped inside shards of spiritual evil and impurity, known as "kelippot".
While traditional Judaism sought to liberate these sparks through the meticulous keeping of commandments, Zvi argued that ordinary human actions could no longer reach the deepest, most trapped sparks.
He believed that the Messiah had to descend directly into the realm of impurity to wage spiritual warfare and free those final sparks from the inside. thus, committing a sin was not an act of rebellion against God, but a necessary, heroic cosmic mission to complete the redemption of the world.
His fervent following generated massive public demonstrations, large-scale pilgrimages, and civil disturbances across the Levant and capital
He was arrested in 1666 by the Ottoman authorities under Sultan Mehmed IV, because his messianic movement and political ambitions were seen as a direct threat to public order and the stability of the Ottoman Empire. as he traveled to Constantinople with the intention—inspired by his prophet Nathan of Gaza—of confronting Sultan Mehmed IV and claiming a royal or messianic throne.
Once arrested he was given a choice between execution or converting to Islam. He chose to convert, taking the name Aziz Mehmed Efendi. While this deeply disillusioned the majority of the Jewish world, his core theologians—primarily Nathan of Gaza—used his established theology to rationalize the apostasy. Although his apostasy shocked the Jewish world, a remnant of followers maintained secret Sabbatean beliefs or formed the crypto-Islamic Dönme sect
His conversion was framed as the ultimate, painful sacrifice "Descent for the Sake of Ascent" . It was explained as the final and deepest descent into the kelippot (represented by Islam) to conquer evil from within.
The movement argued that "outward actions" were entirely irrelevant as long as one remained "inwardly pure" and faithful to Zvi's messiahship.
The theology allowed a dedicated sect of believers (such as the Donmeh in Greece and Turkey) to outwardly live as Muslims while secretly practicing Sabbatean rituals
The Jewish false Messiah died in isolation on September 17, 1676, in Ulcinj - modern Montenegro.
The exhibit featured original centuries-old documents, rare books, and manuscripts (including items from The Neumark Family Collection).Enlarged facsimiles and copies of historical and theatrical posters.Recently created modern works of art and video/audio footage. An exploration of how Jews, Christians, and Muslims over four centuries imagined and interpreted his complex legacy—from messiah to apostate.
Moshe Lieber
There were several theatrical productions of the Shabtai Zvi story,
one- a play in 9 acts, named
" Walkers in the Dark" even was written by David's grandfather - Moshe Lieber (1887-1962 ) who was a dramaturge , playwright , journalist , director , cultural , thinker, and the editor- in - chief of the weekly " Hayim Hallu ."
Israeli Theatrical Plays we enjoyed Seeing
Camari Theater - Tel-Aviv
Zinger Retreat
רטריט– קומדיה –בסדר זינגר– מצויין
Lesin Theater - Tel aviv
Engagement Party Birds Light to the Non=Jews ּ
אור לגויים –קומדיה בסדר ציפורים כולם –טוב מסיבת אירוסין– מצוין
Habima Theater- Tel Aviv
Goodbye & Thanks for the Kremshnit Mortgage
משכנתא – טוב להיתראות ותודה על הקרמשניט–ט.מ
Following the disappointing election results and the louder drum-beat about a renewed war, it was decided to depart Israel earlier then planned, so on Nov 2nd a day prior to the US midterm election, we took off and flew out of Israel, leaving behind much ambiguity.
The End!
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