Israel heads to the polls, but unity isn’t on the ballot

🔎 Fault Lines Exposed

Israel’s so-called “deep divide” isn’t news to anyone paying attention. It’s a country built on division, between those deemed rightful citizens and those relegated to second-class status, between the settlers and the displaced, between the propaganda of democracy and the reality of apartheid. This election, with all its hand-wringing about unity and identity, is not some existential crossroads for Israel; it’s a continuation of systems that have thrived on dispossession, occupation, and dominance.

The framing of this as a battle Israel “always knew was coming” lets you know who this story is really about, and it isn’t Palestinians. This election is cast as a crisis for Israelis, not the people who have been under siege for decades. It’s written like it’s only about the so-called Jewish state grappling with its soul, not the state that continues to bulldoze homes, expand settlements, and maintain military control over millions of Palestinians whose voices won’t be counted at the polls. The fact that Israel’s political theater gets global attention while Palestinian sovereignty gets buried in silence tells you everything about the power imbalance here.

Let’s talk about what’s really happening. This election isn’t just about domestic political fragmentation. It’s about a government that has leaned further and further into authoritarianism. Benjamin Netanyahu, who’s spent years dodging corruption charges while stoking ultranationalism, is still the linchpin of this system. His alliances with far-right religious extremists aren’t some sideshow, they’re the future he’s building. His embrace of policies that legalize racial segregation and strip Palestinians of rights is not a deviation from Israel’s identity; it is its foundation.

Meanwhile, calling Israel’s past three years of military aggression in the region “regional war” is an interesting choice of words. When Israel bombs Gaza or conducts raids in the West Bank, it’s framed as security policy. But let’s be clear: that’s state violence. That’s occupation flexing its muscle. And every election cycle in Israel plays out like a referendum on how hard it can push that violence, not whether it should stop. These are campaigns fought over who can promise more expansion, more demolition, more suppression.

What we’re seeing in Israel mirrors dynamics Black people know well.

For Israel, the divisions between secular liberals, ultra-Orthodox conservatives, and far-right nationalists are a family affair, a debate within a settler-colonial system that’s never questioned its own legitimacy.

Divide and conquer is a colonial blueprint. S. in Africa, and beyond, white supremacy thrives by pitting groups against each other, by manufacturing crises that distract from systemic oppression. It’s a pattern of control designed to ensure the powerful stay in power. For Israel, the divisions between secular liberals, ultra-Orthodox conservatives, and far-right nationalists are a family affair, a debate within a settler-colonial system that’s never questioned its own legitimacy. No matter who wins, Palestinians lose.

The real question isn’t whether this election will “heal divisions” or even stabilize Israeli society. The question is what it will mean for the millions of Palestinians who live under constant threat from policies rubber-stamped by Israeli voters. S. this election resonates as a reminder that systems built on oppression do not reform themselves. They double down. They call it democracy. And they use every crisis as an excuse to consolidate power.

So what does solidarity look like from here? It means seeing through the noise. When they talk about Israeli democracy being under attack, ask who’s never been included in that democracy in the first place. When they frame this election as a battle for Israel’s soul, ask how much of that soul depends on the denial of Palestinian humanity. And when they tell you this is a story of division, remember that the real divide is between the occupier and the occupied, the oppressor and the oppressed. That’s the story they won’t tell. We have to tell it for them.