Jewish supremacist parties surge in popularity among first-time Israeli voters: Poll

Young Israelis who plan to vote in the upcoming Knesset elections more strongly support the most extreme and racist political parties than do voters in the broader Israeli population

News Desk

OCT 9, 2026

https://thecradle.co/articles/jewish-supremacist-parties-surge-in-popularity-among-first-time-Israeli-voters-poll

Israel's Jewish supremacist political parties are growing in popularity among young, first-time voters ahead of this month's Knesset elections, according to a poll published by Ynet on 9 October.

The poll sampled the opinions of 543 Israeli voters aged 18 to 22.

It found that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party received the support of 8.88 percent of these voters, equivalent to 15 Knesset seats.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party enjoys the support of 8.09 percent of young voters, the equivalent of 14 seats.

If only young, first-time voters participated in the election, the two parties combined would win roughly 19 percent of the vote, or 29 Knesset seats.

In contrast, Smotrich and Ben Gvir's parties won just half that amount, 10.84 percent of the vote, for a combined 14 seats, in the 2022 elections.

Following those elections, Jewish Power and Religious Zionism joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, forming one of the most extreme governments in Israel's history.

Jewish Power and Religious Zionism enjoy strong support among religious nationalist Jews who advocate for the violent expulsion of Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian West Bank and Gaza.

They support the construction of illegal settlements and outposts as part of a broader campaign to colonize the Palestinian territories with Israeli Jews and create Greater Israel.

Many of the estimated 500,000 new voters in next month's elections have participated directly in the genocide in Gaza as conscripts in the Israeli army.

Both Jewish Power and Religious Zionism outperformed Netanyahu's Likud in the new poll. Likud received 7.95 percent of support among young voters, the equivalent of 14 seats.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett's Together alliance also polled well among young voters, receiving 8.98 percent, or 16 seats.

The Yashar party of opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, who is seeking to oust Netanyahu as prime minister, received 8.75 percent, enough for 15 seats.

The Joint List, made up of parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel, received 5.23 percent, enough for nine seats.

Ben Gvir's Jewish Power and Smotrich's Religious Zionism will participate in an alliance in next month's elections with the Amcha Yisrael (People of Israel) party, led by former army general Ofer Winter.

The alliance is expected to do well among all Israeli voters in the Knesset elections. 

A survey published on Friday by the Israeli newspaper Maariv projected that the three Jewish Supremacist parties would win a combined 18 Knesset seats, four more than in the 2022 election.