Thousands rally in Israel calling for a Jewish-Arab coalition to replace Netanyahu, as Arab-led parties emerge as potential kingmakers
Israel's election left Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc with 53 seats, the opposition 48 and Arab parties 19, so no side has the 61 needed to govern. Thousands rallied on Saturday calling for Arab parties to be included in a new government, while right-wing demonstrators rallied against it. President Herzog is due to begin coalition consultations.
Left 1 · Centre-left 5 · Centre 1 · Centre-right 1 · Right 1
ContextSources by leanVideoDeep diveFollow the moneyMore coverage
How each side framed it
Left-leaning outlets
Pressure for a new alliance: 'Thousands rally in Israel urging ‘Jewish-Arab’ coalition to oust Netanyahu' (Al Jazeera); 'Thousands rally across Israel calling for Arab parties' inclusion in government' (Haaretz).
Centre outlets
Centre-rated outlets headline it: “Israeli protesters demand opposition ally with Arab parties to oust Netanyahu” (France 24).
Right-leaning outlets
Arithmetic and kingmakers: 'Israel’s Arabs are now kingmakers and they’re ready to oust Netanyahu' (The Telegraph); 'Benjamin Netanyahu vs Gadi Eisenkot: Israel's coalition deadlock explained' (Jerusalem Post).
Context
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Sources by lean
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Left 3
Centre 3
- France 24
Israeli protesters demand opposition ally with Arab parties to oust Netanyahu (paywalled or blocks bots) - BBC News top-up
How could Israel break election deadlock? Here are four scenarios - The Conversation top-up
Deadlock ahead for Israel as election fails to deliver an alternative to Netanyahu coalition
Right 3
Showing 3 from each side of 9 rated outlets (L 6 / C 1 / R 2). 3 found by a targeted top-up search (marked; not counted in the split). More coverage
Video
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Deep dive
A short prompt for thinking it through. We write a fuller side-by-side deep dive for the day's biggest stories.
The paradox: Likud is the largest party, but its bloc is further from a majority than before.
What each side may be protecting: Left: equal political standing for Arab citizens. Right: a Jewish-majority governing coalition.
A question to hold: Shared question: what coalition terms could a majority of voters on both sides accept?
Try it: open one left and one right article in Sources by lean and note what each takes for granted.
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 (10 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 |
| NPR | Centre-left | According to a Columbia Journalism Review article dated 2010, a large portion of NPR’s revenue comes from dues and fees paid by Member stations and corporate sponsorships. In another article by Columbia Journalism Review, they state that as of 2017, NPR receives less than 1 percent of its total funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting(CPB). 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 |
| Washington Post | Centre-left | In 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post for $250 million. Bezos is a frequent target of Trump, who has accused the businessman of using the Postal System as its “ Delivery Boy. ” The newspaper’s executive editor, Martin Baron, said Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon, is not involved in its news coverage. source |
| Ynet News | Centre-left | Yedioth Ahronoth owns Ynetnews. Advertising derives revenue. 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 |
| 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 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 |
Social pulse
This is a signal of what people are discussing, not evidence of what happened. We don't rate the bias of social media posts.
X: 2,252 posts matching “Israel (coalition OR Eisenkot) (Arab OR Ra'am) -is:retweet”
AI-generated summary of X posts, written by X. Not verified fact.
Tel Aviv Protests Demand Jewish-Arab Government After Netanyahu Falls Short
On October 31, massive crowds filled Tel Aviv and other cities, urging a broad Jewish-Arab government to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his bloc won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset on October 27, short of a majority. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot's bloc took 48 seats, with Arab parties securing a record 19, and he outlined principles for partners including recognizing Israel as Jewish and democratic, mandatory service, and destroying Hamas's power. Arab parties may back Eisenkot as prime minister without joining the cabinet, though right-wing critics decry it as a betrayal of the Jewish majority's vote.
Updated 1 Nov 07:16 UK time · View on X
AI-generated summary of X posts, written by X. Not verified fact.
Yair Golan Meets Mansour Abbas to Build Anti-Netanyahu Coalition
Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s Democrats party, met Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas to push for a new government of reform led by Gadi Eisenkot. The talks followed October 27 elections where Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats and the opposition 48 in the 120-seat Knesset, with Arab parties holding 19—leaving no majority at 61 seats. Golan urged opposition unity with Arab parties, while supporters see it as key to a broad coalition and critics question Ra’am’s platform on issues like prisoner releases and a Palestinian state.
Updated 29 Oct 23:54 UK time · View on X