Israel
Netanyahu bloc trails opposition in Israeli exit polls as Likud watch party falls flat
By Jewish Life Staff, . Jewish Life.
Benjamin Netanyahu's supporters gathered at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on Tuesday night expecting a victory celebration. What they got instead was silence, an empty lectern, and exit polls pointing toward a hung parliament.
What the polls showed
Israeli television channels released their first exit polls at 10 p.m., when polling stations closed, showing Likud as the largest single party. But neither Likud nor its committed coalition partners had won enough seats to form a governing majority in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, JTA reported.
Channel 12's projection had Netanyahu's bloc dropping to 50 seats, down from 68 in the outgoing Knesset, with opposition parties reaching 53 across the network projections, the report said. The Central Elections Committee hopes to finish counting votes by Thursday; by law, official results must be published by November 4.
The mood in the hall
A cheer went up when Channel 14, which had a broadcast desk in the corner of the room, first displayed its poll. But as attendees checked other channels on their phones, the atmosphere grew subdued, the report said.
Netanyahu, who had been expected to address supporters if the results showed a clearer mandate, did not appear and had not issued a statement by the time the first results came in. Likud members of the Knesset also did not address the crowd. The Likud campaign jingle played on a loop every two minutes, and AI-generated election videos ran on the screen, but the lectern remained empty.
Journalists outnumbered supporters for much of the evening. Three dedicated attendees held a blue-and-white Likud flag and chanted "Malach Bibi," meaning "King Bibi," as reporters jostled around them for footage. By 11 p.m., both supporters and press had begun to leave.
Voices from the floor
Yossi Levi, 71, a pensioner from Eilat, drove to Jerusalem to show his support. He told the publication that throughout Netanyahu's time as prime minister, the leader had always had to fight for his political survival against the 120 members of the Knesset, and that he had "thankfully" always come out on top. Levi said his support would remain firm regardless of whether Netanyahu could form a coalition.
A supporter named Boaz, who lives in central Jerusalem, described the mood as not quite disappointment, "but something in the middle," telling the report that no clear winner or loser had yet emerged and that coalition negotiations would now begin. Holding a Likud flag alone in the lobby, he said he planned to stay in case any party lawmakers showed up.
The report, also carried by The Forward, described the election as one billed by many as the most consequential in Israel's history, noting that the historic turnout stood in stark contrast to the sparse crowd inside the convention center.
Sources
1. Netanyahu supporters try to project cheer while waiting for 'King Bibi' to show, jta.org
2. A watch party without Netanyahu Supporters tried to project cheer, forward.com