The battle for Israel: 38 parties submit lists as Netanyahu faces fight for power

38 parties, one government: Israel’s election battle officially begins.

World Israel News Staff

Israel’s October 27 election is officially taking shape, with a remarkable 38 parties submitting candidate lists before Tuesday night’s deadline. But despite days of speculation, there were no dramatic last-minute mergers, leaving the political map largely intact — and Israel facing a tight battle between parties aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and those seeking to replace him.

The final lists nevertheless delivered significant upheaval. The Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism pushed out veteran lawmakers Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev, with Yaakov Asher taking the helm, while the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas added IDF reservist Dror Amos as it seeks to soften criticism over its opposition to drafting Haredi men. On the right, Religious Zionism joined forces with Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut, while Zvi Sukkot was demoted to sixth place — potentially leaving him outside the next Knesset.

The opposition features several heavyweight rivals to Netanyahu, including Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid’s B’Yachad, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar and Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu, while Benny Gantz is fighting for political survival with a rebuilt Blue and White slate that polls consistently show below the electoral threshold. On the left, Yair Golan leads the Democrats, the party formed through the merger of Labor and Meretz.

Among the Arab parties, Hadash, Ta’al and Balad have reunited under the Joint List, while Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am is running separately. With 38 parties competing but only around a dozen expected to reach the Knesset, the battle is set — and a handful of seats could decide who governs Israel next.

The ballot also features a colorful collection of fringe parties with little prospect of entering parliament — including The Pirates, Garden of Eden and even Sharshar, whose chairman arrived to register wearing a crown and robe and introduced himself as a king.