Published: 20 October 2026
Last updated: 20 October 2026
President Isaac Herzog has promised that even if the results of the October 27 elections are inconclusive, he will do everything in his power to ensure the establishment of a stable government and that Israelis will not go back to the polls.
The President’s office has denied that this would necessarily mean a unity coalition between Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, but the president has the power to push for this outcome – and it is one of the most likely scenarios.
The President has told us the country is too fragile for another election and we must put our differences aside. Otherwise, our society will collapse.
The idea is tempting. A unity government could bring calm to our angry society and quiet to our public spaces. Maybe it could be a balm for our scorched skin, a salve for our wounds, a surgical glue to bring us together.
A government based on phony unity would blur responsibility and accountability when they are needed most
The president’s declaration is a reminder of what we can be when we are at our best. When, after the traumatic events of October 7, the same Israelis who, just days earlier, had stood on opposite sides of bitter divides, were able to mobilise and work together without ever asking the person standing beside them whom they had voted for.
Indeed, for brief moments, we confronted catastrophe together. The unity created by the thousands of actions by individual and civil society groups was real, but it was neither durable nor sustainable. The divisions that preceded October 7 did not disappear.
