Voters pick security over global image in upcoming election

Israelis will vote on October 27, and security is the main issue driving that choice.

International opinion of the country has declined, but analysts say voters care more about internal divisions and the war than how Israel is viewed abroad.

A Pew survey conducted between February and May this year found that a median of 67% of adults in 36 countries viewed Israel unfavorably.

That number sits alongside a series of reports from Israelis traveling overseas.

In July, tourists in Montenegro were confronted by people who accused them of taking holidays from genocide.

An Israeli woman in Greece said a restaurant refused to serve her because of her nationality.

A mother in Thailand reported that she and her daughter were beaten after they identified themselves as Israeli.

A couple checking into a hotel in California were asked if they were baby killers.

These incidents reflect a wider shift in how world leaders talk about Israel.

More officials have described the military operations in Gaza as disproportionate.

Some countries, including allies, have moved to distance themselves from Israel or impose sanctions over West Bank policies and settler violence.

Yaakov Katz, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that this criticism has not become a major electoral concern yet. He noted that many Israelis accept Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s argument that foreign hostility is rooted in antisemitism and would continue regardless of policy. Katz warned that the average Israeli does not fully understand the potential consequences of declining support, especially in the United States, though they take comfort in President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu. Ofir Dayan, a senior fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Israelis are troubled by the hostility abroad. However, after more than three years of war, other concerns weigh more heavily. “Israeli voters are very much one-issue voters, and the issue in this election is security,” she said. Peter Lerner, a former Israel Defense Forces international spokesman, agreed that foreign standing ranks behind divisions over Netanyahu and the left-right split. Few of the roughly dozen parties expected to enter the Knesset have addressed the country’s image directly. B’Yachad, led by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, has proposed a non-voting parliamentary observer for Diaspora Jewish issues. Amcha Yisrael, a new right-wing party led by former IDF Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter, lists public diplomacy activists Yoseph Haddad and Fleur Hassan-Nahoum as candidates. Haddad has said he is interested in becoming public diplomacy minister. Eylon Levy, a journalist and former government spokesman, said on JTA’s “Waiting for 61” podcast that candidates generally view public diplomacy through the lens of national interests. He described the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party’s approach as emphasizing toughness. He criticized left-leaning expectations that more moderate conduct would quickly restore normal relations. Levy said a change of government would be unlikely to transform international perceptions immediately, but a more moderate administration might receive a grace period and gain goodwill from countries that profess support for Israel.