Israel’s 2026 election could decide survival of democracy, JW3 panel warns

Israel’s 2026 election will decide whether the country’s democratic institutions survive or continue to weaken, speakers warned at a JW3 breakfast discussion held by JW3 chief executive Raymond Simonson, as panellists called for political change, equality and a renewed partnership between Israel and Jewish communities worldwide.

The conversation, held on 13 February in partnership with The London Initiative (TLI), brought together Israeli, American and Palestinian-Israeli figures to examine what is at stake in the next vote, both inside Israel and beyond it.

Professor Jonathan Rynhold, academic head of the Jonathan Sacks Institute at Bar-Ilan University, said the election must result in a change of government. “I’m hoping for 61,” he said, in reference to the number of seats needed to form a majority in the Knesset. “The most important thing is to win, to have a different coalition. Any conceivable coalition that is different from this one will be much, much better.”

Rynhold warned that Israel faced a deeper threat than political gridlock. “There is one major threat to Israel, and that is to institutions – its democratic institutions,” he said, adding that if they were damaged, “then the ability to do everything else goes as well.”

He also raised concerns about proposals aired in the Knesset that, he said, pointed to attempts to “manipulate free and fair elections”, including ideas around who oversees the election committee, limiting polling stations on university campuses and ending election day as a national holiday.

Raghad Jaraisy, co-executive director of equality advocacy organisation Sikkuy-Aufoq, said the election coincides with a critical moment for Palestinian citizens of Israel. She noted that 2026 marks the end of Israel’s major multi-year government investment in Arab communities. “550 is a decision that comes to its end in 2026,” she said, warning that the vote would shape whether those investments continue.

Jaraisy also highlighted the scale of violent crime in Arab towns, calling it a “threat to our life and existence”. She told the audience: “50 people were killed from the beginning of the year, 50 days, 50 people… more than 250 people were killed in 2025.”

She warned against attempts to restore the pre-war status quo, arguing that Israel must “not go back, but build back better”. Partial integration had collapsed since 7 October, she said, and needed to be replaced with genuine equality and partnership. “Equality – that’s not a threat,” she added. “It’s an opportunity.”

The role of diaspora Jewish communities emerged as one of the most debated themes of the morning. Shanie Reichman, director of strategic initiatives at Atid and the Israel Policy Forum, urged Jewish communities outside Israel not to stay on the side-lines. “For the rest of the diaspora to sit this one out is irresponsible,” she said, arguing that political influence from abroad was already shaping Israel from the right.

Rynhold said one practical step would be giving Israeli students direct exposure to diaspora institutions, warning that younger Israelis often “completely don’t understand diaspora Jewish identity”.

Dr Jeffrey R. Solomon, senior advisor to Chasbro Investments, called for stronger accountability from Israel’s leaders. “If I had a magic wand, I would create consequences,” he said, prompting a “DiPAC” – a Diaspora Israel Political Action Committee – to represent Jewish communities outside Israel.

Solomon also criticised charitable funding from abroad that supports settlement expansion, telling the audience: “We have allowed charities to build towards annexation in the West Bank. Shame on us.”

Questions from the floor focused on whether a future anti-Netanyahu coalition could avoid repeating the failures of past short-lived governments. Rynhold argued that electoral success required discipline rather than idealism. “You do not project your values into the election,” he said. “You start from how do I win, and you work backwards.”

Jaraisy cautioned against limiting Jewish-Arab political partnership to a single model or figure. “The Arab representation does not start and does not stop with Mansour Abbas,” she said. “The discourse is huge, the representation is wide, and different.”

The discussion closed with a shared warning: Israel’s next election is not simply about changing who governs, but about whether democracy, equality and Israel’s relationship with world Jewry can be stabilised – or whether the fractures exposed since 7 October deepen further.