The Election That Will Define Israel’s Future

About this episode

<p>Israelis head to the polls next week. On the ballot is the future of a country that has become isolated on the world stage, because of both its war in Gaza and a growing outcry over settler violence in the West Bank.</p><p>David M. Halbfinger, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu differs from his biggest challenger.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-m-halbfinger" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>David M. Halbfinger</strong></a>, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Here’s why <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/21/world/middleeast/stakes-for-palestinians-of-israel-election.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Palestinians hope Israelis will oust Netanyahu</a> in pivotal election.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/18/us/politics/trump-endorses-netanyahu-election-israel.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">President Trump endorsed Netanyahu</a> as best U.S. partner in the Israeli election.</li></ul><p>Photo: Amir Cohen/Reuters; Ariel Schalit/Associated Press</p> <p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p><p> </p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>