With Israel’s election set for October 27, this week's Deep Dive dives into why Likud is racing to pass key laws as haredi demands, military manpower concerns, and Eisenkot’s rise reshape the campaign

Netanyahu's draft-law blitz before Israel's election

ByJERUSALEM POST PODCASTS

JULY 16, 2026 10:14

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With the Israeli elections scheduled for October 27, while other parties focus on their campaign strategies, Likud has initiated a last-minute effort to pass important laws prior to the Knesset break.

In the newest installment of the Jerusalem Post's Deep Dive podcast, host Jacob Laznik joins the paper's breaking-news desk manager Shir Perets to analyze why Netanyahu sees this legislative sprint as vital for building his future coalition and how his haredi allies continue to influence budget decisions.

They place these political moves within a tense regional setting where a US-Middle East partnership trades blows with Iran even as Israel stays on the sidelines for now.

The talk highlights two hotly debated steps taken this week - the Basic Law on Torah study and a short-term halt to arresting draft evaders - along with their effects on the IDF's already tight personnel shortages that the chief of staff had warned about openly.

Laznik and Perets also discuss the standout campaign shift: the surge of former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, whose rising support now seems to outpace both Netanyahu and the Bennett-Lapid slate.

This episode stands out for the straightforward insights of two analysts following the developments in real time, tracing budget motives, weighing different views, and circling back to the key question for voters: after four years, is the nation in a stronger position?