- Whether the ultra-Orthodox remain exempt from military service is a key point of electoral contention with ramifications well beyond the elections. Either the burden of service will become more uneven, or a major enforcement problem will arise
- Several key Israeli politicians excluded any prospect of establishing a Palestinian state
- The wars against Hezbollah and Iran remain supported across Israel’s political establishment
- The electoral prospects of the centre-right opposition look fairly balanced with those of the extreme-right ruling coalition
As electoral campaigns heat up in Israel, the ultra-Orthodox draft issue remains the key point of contention between the ruling coalition and the opposition. Its ramifications will extend well beyond the elections. Either the burden of service will become more uneven, or a major enforcement problem will arise. Social division looms either way. Several key Israeli politicians explicitly ruled out any prospect of establishing a Palestinian state while not even one advocated for it in public. However, Israeli opposition leaders did accuse the government of risking a new Palestinian uprising by letting settlers run rampant and accelerating annexation. The opposition takes issue with the process, not the objective. The wars against Hezbollah and Iran remain supported across Israel’s political establishment even though the opposition tries to take the ruling coalition to task at every turn by pointing to its failure to achieve stated war objectives. For now, the electoral prospects of the centre-right opposition look fairly balanced with those of the ruling coalition of the extreme-right.