Israel goes to the polls on October 27, and the choice before its voters is shaped by a man whose presence has stretched across nearly two decades of its public life. Benjamin Netanyahu, now seeking yet another term, has left durable marks on the courts, the security services, the religious establishment and the very definition of the national community. Whether those marks are read as the architecture of a strong state or as the erosion of its checks depends on where one stands, and the country is now asked to decide which reading it will carry forward.
How Benjamin Netanyahu Reshaped Israel's Institutions Ahead of the October 27 Vote
Reversing them may be easier to promise than to do.
Mark
Why does this election feel different from earlier ones involving Netanyahu?
Mimi
Because the question is partly about what he has already built. The judicial selection changes, the Nation-State Basic Law, the expanded religious courts: these are statutes, not just positions.
Mark
And his opponents say they'll undo them?
Mimi
They pledge to. But the piece ends on the point that many of these changes are now law, so reversal is harder than a campaign promise.
Luke
Worth saying this is an analysis piece, so a lot of it is characterization. "Undermining oversight" and "coup" are labels from his critics, and "judicial dictatorship" is his label for the other side.
Mark
What about the Rabin allegation?
Mimi
Israeli political leaders accuse him of leading incitement. He denies responsibility.
Luke
And the claim that security officials warned him comes from Israeli media reports of what former officials said. It's attributed, not independently established here.
Mark
What about the apartheid claim?
Luke
That's the position of international experts and rights groups. Israel rejects it, according to the editorial notes, though the article itself doesn't give Israel's response.
Mark
What is actually settled?
Mimi
That the laws passed, that the High Court rejected the petition against the Nation-State law, and that the corruption cases from 2019 are still being examined.
Luke
And that he denies wrongdoing. Nothing here says how those cases will end.
El Pulso
- A nation heads to the ballot on October 27 with its institutions visibly contested and its streets shaped by months of protest.
- A 2023 overhaul reshaped the Judicial Selection Committee, and opponents answer with the language of coup and crisis.
- The 2018 Nation-State Basic Law stands as a flashpoint, with critics naming it discriminatory and rights groups invoking apartheid.
- Netanyahu, facing three corruption cases he denies, vows to finish the overhaul, yet many changes are already law and difficult to unwind.
Israel goes to the polls on October 27, and the choice before its voters is shaped by a man whose presence has stretched across nearly two decades of its public life. Benjamin Netanyahu, now seeking yet another term, has left durable marks on the courts, the security services, the religious establishment and the very definition of the national community. Whether those marks are read as the architecture of a strong state or as the erosion of its checks depends on where one stands, and the country is now asked to decide which reading it will carry forward.
Israel votes on October 27, and the contest centers on the man who has held the prime minister's office longer than anyone else. Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud Party, is seeking re-election after roughly nineteen years in power on and off. Supporters call him "King Bibi." Critics call him the architect of security failures and corruption.
According to Al Jazeera's analysis, his imprint on the country is beyond dispute. Analysts suggest his most lasting domestic legacy may be the right-wing, militaristic opposition he helped build and now confronts. His rise in the 1990s was fueled by opposition to peace efforts with the Palestinians and Syria, and his rhetoric before the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is still debated, with Netanyahu denying any responsibility.
His governing style brought extreme-right and religious parties into the center of his alliance. Religious courts gained expanded authority, and state funding for ultra-Orthodox institutions grew substantially. He also codified his vision in the 2018 Nation-State Basic Law, which defines Israel as the exclusive state of the Jewish people. Rights groups, who petitioned against it, see it as evidence of apartheid, a charge Israel rejects.
The judiciary may be the deepest change. A law altering the Judicial Selection Committee expanded the governing coalition's influence over judges. Netanyahu calls it reform against a "judicial dictatorship"; opponents call it a coup, and it drew large protests. He also faces three corruption cases from 2019, which he denies, and an International Criminal Court warrant concerning Gaza.
Now he promises to finish the overhaul. Supporters see a leader who delivers, while opponents pledge to undo what they describe as damage to democracy and standing abroad. Yet many of the changes are already law, and reversing them may prove far harder than promising to.
Israel votes on October 27, and the man at the center of the contest is the one who has held the prime minister's office longer than anyone else. Benjamin Netanyahu, born in 1949 and leader of the Likud Party, is seeking re-election after roughly 19 on-and-off years in power. His supporters call him "King Bibi." His opponents call him the king of security failures and corruption.
What is not disputed, according to Al Jazeera's analysis, is that he has left a mark on the country's institutions, its politics and its social attitudes. Analysts quoted in the piece say his most lasting domestic legacy may be the right-wing, militaristic opposition he helped create and now faces.
Netanyahu rose to the central political stage in the early 1990s by feeding anger at possible peace deals with the Palestinians and Syria. Israeli political leaders have accused him of leading incitement that motivated the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was negotiating with the Palestine Liberation Organization, by an ultranationalist Israeli. Netanyahu led rallies where participants showed Rabin in a Nazi SS uniform, carried signs placing him in a gun's crosshairs, and shouted "traitor." Netanyahu denies any responsibility. Israeli media have reported that former security officials say they warned him beforehand and asked him to tone down his rhetoric, and that he refused.
In 1996 the populist approach worked at the ballot box, and he became Israel's youngest prime minister. His transactional style gave prominence to extreme-right and religious parties, which are now indispensable to his alliance. Under him, religious courts gained expanded powers, including over civil and business disputes, and state institutions have accommodated religious agendas, with record funding going to ultra-Orthodox schools and institutions.
He also wrote his ideology into law. In 2018 the Knesset passed the Nation-State Basic Law, which declares Israel the exclusive state of the Jewish people and makes advancing settlements, described in the piece as illegal, a national priority. Human rights groups in Israel petitioned the High Court to block it, and the petition was rejected. International experts and rights groups cite this law, among others, as evidence of apartheid in Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
Netanyahu also reshaped state institutions, including the security structures, placing loyalists and political allies in senior posts and clashing with security chiefs he saw as antagonistic. After the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, which triggered Israel's war in Gaza, he deflected blame onto the security establishment. Ronen Bar, who headed the Shin Bet in 2023, responded by suing him for defamation.
The judiciary may be the largest change. The Knesset adopted legislation altering the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee to give the governing coalition more political influence. Netanyahu calls this "judicial reform," a remedy for what he describes as a "judicial dictatorship" over elected officials. Opponents call it a coup, and it set off wide-scale protests. He also tried repeatedly, without success, to fire the attorney general. He did succeed in dismissing the military's advocate general, who leaked a video of Israeli soldiers gang-raping a Palestinian detainee. The soldiers were released and cleared of charges.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu faces three separate corruption cases filed in 2019, which could mean prison if he is convicted. He denies wrongdoing. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Gaza.
He says his work is unfinished and has promised supporters he will complete the overhaul of judicial review and pursue other contentious policies. Backers see a leader who delivers what others could not. Opponents vow to undo what they call the damage of corruption, social division and growing international isolation. But many of the changes are now law, and reversing them may be easier to promise than to do.
Citas Notables
Netanyahu calls his judiciary changes 'judicial reform' to stop what he calls a 'judicial dictatorship'; opponents call it a 'coup'.— Al Jazeera analysis, describing Netanyahu and his critics
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