Israel votes on 27 October: Arab parties could hold the balance of power as Netanyahu fights for survival

Five days before Israel's 27 October election, turnout among Arab citizens could decide whether Netanyahu's bloc holds power. Trump has endorsed Netanyahu, and Vance has declined to.

L 55%C 30%R 15%

L 55% · C 30% · R 15% · 20 outlets

Left 1 · Centre-left 10 · Centre 6 · Centre-right 2 · Right 1

Blindspot for the right (barely covered by right-leaning outlets)

Sources by lean Follow the money More coverage

How each side framed it

Left-leaning outlets

Palestinian citizens as kingmakers: 'Palestinian voters could determine Israel's future' (NYT), mainstream parties voting with the far right (Al Jazeera), extreme speech surging (AP), trauma defining the vote (New Statesman).

Centre outlets

Centre-rated outlets headline it: “How Arab parties could hold critical balance of power in Israeli election” (BBC News); “Israel election poll tracker: will Binyamin Netanyahu hold on to power?” (The Economist).

Right-leaning outlets

Thinner coverage, focused on candidates and the US angle: Vance declines to endorse Netanyahu (JC), and crime policy could move young Arab voters to non-Arab parties (JPost). The Telegraph links Gaza testimony to the vote.

Holding the paradox

Agreed facts

Israel votes on 27 October. Arab-majority parties could hold the balance between Netanyahu's bloc and the opposition, and turnout among Arab citizens is the big unknown. Trump has endorsed Netanyahu, and Vance has declined to. Polls (Economist tracker) show a close race. Reuters reports Ben-Gvir gaining among young voters.

Where claims conflict

Whether Arab parties would be allowed into, or would back, any coalition. How far Trump's endorsement helps or hurts Netanyahu (Politico: 'may not be enough').

The paradox

A vote on Israel's security may be decided by the citizens most often excluded from talk of who governs Israel.

Sources by lean

Balanced: the same number of articles from the left, the centre and the right (up to 3 each). The bar above still counts every rated outlet we found. Bias and factual ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check. How we balance · All ratings.

Showing 3 from each side of 20 rated outlets (L 11 / C 6 / R 3). More coverage

Follow the money

Not yet researched. We haven't yet looked at who gains or loses financially from this story, or who funds the main voices on each side. When we do, we check company filings, the Electoral Commission donations register, lobbying registers, annual reports, InfluenceMap and OpenSecrets, and we apply the same checks to every side. How we follow the money.

Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (21 outlets)

Outlet	Lean	Ownership & funding (MBFC)
Haaretz	Left	According to the Financial Times, Haaretz does not report its earnings. They were also the first Israeli paper to introduce the paywall. For subscription fees, please see here. source
Al Jazeera	Centre-left	Al Jazeera is owned and funded by the state of Qatar. The founder and Chairman of the Board is Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, the House of Thani. According to a Fortune article, i n 2016, state-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera laid off 500 workers due to Qatar’s financial troubles resulting from low global prices for oil and natural gas. source
Associated Press	Centre-left	The Associated Press (AP) is a nonprofit news cooperative with a profit of $1.6 million in 2016. It also sells content to other media organizations. According to an article titled “ AP reports loss on one-time accounting charges,” t he Associated Press lost $74 million in 2017, and it states the reason as “mostly due to one-time accounting charges related to the federal tax overhaul passed late last year.” source
Middle East Eye	Centre-left	The Middle East Eye lacks transparency as it does not easily provide ownership information. The website requires that you find ownership information on their Terms and Conditions page, which indicates M.E.E Ltd is the owner. The website also does not indicate that Jamal Bessasso is the owner of M.E.E Ltd. source
NBC News	Centre-left	No ownership data found
New Statesman	Centre-left	New Statesman is owned by GlobalData PLC, a data analytics and media company established in 1999 and listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2000. It was previously called Progressive Digital Media and, before that, the TMN Group. Advertising and subscription fees generate revenue. source
New York Times	Centre-left	The Ochs-Sulzberger family controls the New York Times through Class B shares. Since 1967, the company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYT. Class B shares are those that are held privately. source
The National (Scotland)	Centre-left	The National is operated by Newsquest Media Group Ltd., a UK-based local media publisher. Newsquest is a wholly owned subsidiary of USA TODAY Co., Inc., the media company formerly known as Gannett Company, which also controls AZthe USA TODAY Network of national and local news outlets in the United States and regional titles in the United Kingdom. Revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales source
Time	Centre-left	Time Magazine is owned by Marc and Lynne Benioff and is funded through subscriptions, sponsored content, and advertising sales. source
Times of Israel	Centre-left	The Times of Israel is co-owned by David Horovitz and Seth Klarman. Revenue is generated through advertising..push({}); source
Ynet News	Centre-left	Yedioth Ahronoth owns Ynetnews. Advertising derives revenue. source
BBC News	Centre	The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source
France 24	Centre	France 24 is owned by France Médias Monde, a state-owned French holding company that supervises and coordinates the activities of the major public media organizations broadcasting or publishing internationally from France. Besides government funding, they also generate revenue through advertising. source
Reuters	Centre	In April 2008, the British company Reuters Group was acquired by Thomson Corporation and formed Thomson Reuters. source
The Conversation	Centre	The Conversation websites are held by the not-for-profit educational charity owned by The Conversation Trust. The Conversation is funded by the university and research sector, government, and business..push({}); source
The Economist	Centre	The Economist is owned by the Economist Group, which is a British multinational media company. They are primarily owned by the Cadbury, Rothschild, Schroder, Layton, and Agnelli families. Subscriptions, advertising, and sponsored content generate revenue for the Economist. source
The Hill	Centre	In 2021, The Hill was purchased by Nexstar, which owns around 200 TV stations and media outlets nationwide. The founder, chairman, president, and CEO of Nexstar is Perry A. Sook. source
Jerusalem Post	Centre-right	In 1989, the paper was purchased by Hollinger Inc. for $17-million, which Canadian-born British Conservative Conrad Black owned. Conrad Black later was charged with “swindling his company, Hollinger International, of $60 million.” He was serving a prison sentence; however, in 2019, President Donald Trump pardoned him. source
The Jewish Chronicle	Centre-right	In 2020, The Jewish Chronicle was purchased by a consortium of philanthropists led by Sir Robbie Gibb and others, rescuing the paper from financial collapse. However, the full details of its ownership and funding remain unclear, as the financial backers of the consortium have not been fully disclosed. Speculation about involvement from figures such as billionaire Paul E. source
The Telegraph	Right	Telegraph Media Group (TMG) owns The Telegraph, which is owned by Press Acquisitions Ltd., which in turn is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. In 2004, Twin Brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay acquired the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph from the Canadian media company Hollinger Inc. for £665 million. For a complete list of Board members, see here. source
i24NEWS	Not rated	No ownership data found