EYLON: Israel Electioncast

Support the podcast and join a subscriber-only Q&A webinar:👉 Subscribe on Patreon for $10/month: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast Can Naftali Bennett get the growing Haredi community to carry its weight by unplugging their benefits? Can he bring down Israel’s obscene cost of living by dismantling bureaucracies? And he rebuild Israel's standing while ruling out a Palestinian state and declaring a major US ally an enemy?Former prime minister and BeYachad Party chairman Naftali Bennett joins Eylon Levy ahead of the Israeli election. His chosen topics: Haredi integration, the cost of living and declaring Qatar an enemy state. Eylon adds Israel's global standing.Bennett proposes cutting benefits for those refusing work or service, and sending Haredim to protect Israel’s vulnerable borders.He targets monopolies and kosher import barriers to cut grocery bills by 30%. Eylon challenges him on confronting Qatar, a US ally, and the diplomatic price of his personal opposition to a Palestinian state.The Israel Electioncast explores Israel's first election after the October 7 Massacre, helping English speakers in Israel and international viewers understand what Israelis are really arguing about before the critical 27 October elections.BeYachad Parties Policy Plans: https://be-yahad.org.il/en/plans/?bennett_plans_cat=290%2C251%2C294%2C298 Explore the series: https://www.eylonalevy.com/electioncast Join my subscriber-only webinar on 26 October: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast Produced by Leah Miller

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🎙 Filmed at M10 Studios, Tel Aviv https://m10.co.il/video-podcast-studio-tel-aviv Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, even at the cost of all-out war? Judicial reform, even at the cost of tearing the country apart? Eylon Levy presses Simcha Rothman on his party’s vision and how he plans to deliver it.Religious Zionism's Simcha Rothman joins the Electioncast ahead of the Israeli election. He chooses to discuss judicial reform, settlement and sovereignty, and deregulation and free markets. Eylon adds foreign relations.Rothman proposes limiting the courts’ powers to strike down laws. Eylon presses him on safeguards for minority rights. Rothman calls for sovereignty in Judea and Samaria without voting rights for Palestinians who remain. They clash over settlement farms and incentives for Jews to move to the Galilee. Israel Electioncast explores the first election since the October 7 massacre, for English-speaking Israelis and international viewers who want to understand what Israelis are really arguing about before the critical 27 October elections.Explore the series: https://www.eylonalevy.com/electioncast

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Support the podcast and join a subscriber-only Q&A webinar:👉 Subscribe on Patreon for $10/month: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast Should Gazans have to cut up UNRWA cards to enter a new “Gaza of peace”, and should draft-dodgers be stopped from coming back into the country?Einat Wilf of the Reservists-Economic Party joins Eylon Levy ahead of the Israeli election. Their three agreed topics: universal service, the economy and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Eylon adds foreign policy.Wilf defends military or national service for everyone and benefit cuts for refusers. Eylon questions the justification for conscription to non-essential work and warns of a fierce backlash. He presses her on Yaron Zelekha’s economic plans: do the sums add up?Her own proposals include annexing an uninhabited part of Gaza and parts of Judea and Samaria, requiring entrants to her Gaza of peace to renounce refugee status and the right of return, and growing food on rooftops to prepare for extreme scenarios. Eylon pushes back: could her annexation plans drive allies towards sanctions? Israel Electioncast helps English-speaking Israelis and international viewers understand what Israelis are really arguing about before the critical 27 October elections. https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast The Reservists Party Policy Plans: https://www.themiluimnikim.org.il/platform/ The Economics Party Policy Plans: https://www.hakalkalit.org/ Explore the series: https://www.eylonalevy.com/electioncast

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Can a Palestinian state coexist with an indefinite Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley—and who checks judges powerful enough to overturn Basic Laws?

The Democrats' Gilad Kariv joins Eylon Levy ahead of the Israeli election. He chooses democracy and the legal system, religion and state, and diplomacy and security; Eylon separates diplomacy as the fourth topic.

After October 7, Kariv wants Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley for decades, replacing his earlier openness to foreign forces. Eylon challenges him on an indefinite presence: who would accept it alongside a demilitarised Palestinian state?

Kariv also defends a judiciary powerful enough to strike down Basic Laws, arguing it must protect democracy when the Knesset abuses its authority. Eylon challenges whether judges have put themselves above the law—and who gave them that power.

They also debate civil marriage, Shabbat buses and whether renewed talks can repair relations with America's left.

Israel Electioncast helps English-speaking Israelis and international viewers understand what Israelis are really arguing about before the critical 27 October elections.

Democrats Party's Policy Plans: https://democrats.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/plan-8-26-he.pdf

Explore the series: https://www.eylonalevy.com/electioncast
Join my subscriber-only webinar on 26 October: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast

Support the podcast and join a subscriber-only Q&A webinar:👉 Subscribe on Patreon for $10/month: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast

Is it possible to unite Israel while still pursuing the major reforms the country needs? 

Yashar’s Shaul Meridor joins Eylon Levy ahead of the Israeli election. He chooses to discuss the economy, rebuilding Israel’s north and national service for all; Eylon adds the welfare state.

Meridor proposes shifting public spending from those who dodge the military draft to those who serve their nation, reducing draft exemptions to only 3% of each new cohort. 

He outlines Yashar’s extra ₪15 billion over five years for the north, and backs more import competition and lower farm tariffs alongside subsidies. He rejects the idea that Israel can be economically self-sufficient; Eylon challenges whether Yashar has a plan to future proof the Israeli economy against possible sanctions. 

Israel Electioncast is for English-speaking Israelis and international viewers seeking to understand what Israelis are really arguing about before the critical 27 October elections.

Yashar Policy Plans: https://yasharwitheisenkot.com/principles/economics-en/ 

Explore the series: https://www.eylonalevy.com/electioncast

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Support the podcast and join a subscriber-only Q&A webinar:👉 Subscribe on Patreon for $10/month: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcastCan Amcha Yisrael end the war by helping Gazans leave—and who will take them?Fleur Hassan-Nahoum of Amcha Yisrael joins Eylon Levy to discuss the Israeli election. She chooses total victory, national service and public diplomacy; Eylon adds foreign relations.Fleur defends facilitating voluntary emigration from Gaza and says she thinks departure should be permanent. Eylon presses her on host countries and civilians who stay; she says they must be separated from combatants. She backs deep buffer zones and annexing the Jordan Valley.On service, she defends exemptions for serious Torah students and economic penalties for others who refuse to serve, including losing childcare subsidies and property-tax discounts. Eylon challenges the undefined exemption criteria. She argues for a Hasbara Ministry; he asks why another ministry is needed—and how tougher policies can retain allied support.Israel Electioncast explores Israel’s first election after the October 7 massacre, for English-speaking Israelis and international viewers seeking to understand what Israelis are really arguing about before the critical 27 October elections.Amcha Yisrael’s Policy Plans: https://amchayisrael.com/foundations Explore the series: https://www.eylonalevy.com/electioncastJoin my subscriber-only webinar on 26 October: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast

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Should Torah study exempt Haredi men from the IDF, and why should secular women serve while Haredi women do not?

Dr. Nechumi Yaffe of Haredi Public joins Eylon Levy for a tense episode of the Israel Electioncast. She chose education, the military draft and beating poverty; Eylon chose religion and state.Yaffe backs reducing state funding for Haredi schools that teach only religious subjects, while expanding state Haredi schools. But on the draft, sharp disagreements emerge. She defends exemptions for serious Torah scholars and Haredi-only units for those who serve, while placing Haredi women’s enlistment outside the party’s agenda. Eylon challenges her on why secular women must serve while Haredi women do not, prompting a heated exchange over equality and who should bear the burden.

They also clash over welfare and public-transport subsidies, as Yaffe argues that education, training and employment offer a route out of poverty. On religion and state, she says the party has not developed a policy and does not want to be coercive.

The Israel Electioncast takes English-speaking Israelis and international viewers inside the arguments shaping Israel’s future ahead of the critical 27 October elections. The Israel Electioncast is for English-speaking Israelis and international viewers who want to understand what Israelis are really arguing about before the critical 27 October elections.

Haredi Public Policy Plans

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Support the podcast and join a subscriber-only Q&A webinar:👉 Subscribe on Patreon for $10/month: Should refusing to serve cost you your benefits, driving licence, and your vote?Dan Illouz joins Eylon Levy to lay out Yisrael Beitenu’s plan if it joins the next government. He chose to talk about defence, ultra-Orthodox enlistment and the economy; Eylon adds religion and state.Yisrael Beitenu proposes military or civilian service for all, with benefits and driving licences tied to service. Eylon challenges stripping voting rights from those refusing to report for enlistment, a party position, but not a coalition red line.Eylon presses Illouz on who would replace Hamas in Gaza. The party advocates opening food markets to competition with direct subsidies for farmers, and ending funding for schools that do not teach maths and English.It backs civil marriage for same-sex and interfaith couples, and local decisions on Shabbat transport. Eylon challenges Illouz’s vote against civil marriage. Israel Electioncast is for English-speaking Israelis and international viewers seeking to understand what Israelis are really arguing about before the critical 27 October elections.Yisrael Beiteinu Policy PlansExplore the seriesJoin my subscriber-only webinar on 26 October

Support the podcast and join a subscriber-only Q&A webinar:👉 Subscribe on Patreon for $10/month: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast 🎙 Filmed at M10 Studios, Tel Aviv https://m10.co.il/video-podcast-studio-tel-aviv Should Arab men be called up to the IDF—and lose benefits if they refuse? Could border yeshivas bring ultra-Orthodox men into uniform?Israel First leader Sharren Haskel joins Eylon Levy ahead of the Israeli election. She chose security and conscription, the economy, and education; Eylon chose civil liberties. Haskel proposes military call-ups for Arab and ultra-Orthodox men, with lost subsidies for those who decline, and border yeshivas where students would train and serve.Haskel calls for sovereignty in the Jordan Valley and the end of the Oslo framework. Asked what would replace the Palestinian Authority, she offers tribal or local autonomy as ideas to investigate, rather than a settled plan. She proposes a cap on household benefits and school vouchers that would let parents choose schools, even if unions strike. On civil liberties, she defends licensed cannabis shops for adults over 21; Eylon challenges her on psychosis risks and safeguards for children.The Israel Electioncast helps English-speaking Israelis and international viewers understand what Israelis are arguing about before the critical 27 October elections.Explore the series: https://www.eylonalevy.com/electioncast Join my subscriber-only webinar on 26 October: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast

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🎙 Filmed at M10 Studios, Tel Aviv

Can a crocodile-filled prison moat deter terrorism—and how will acting like a crazy man boost Israel's image?

Otzma Yehudit’s Yishai Fleisher joins Eylon Levy ahead of the first Israeli election after the October 7 massacre.

His choices: deterrence, Aliyah and international legitimacy. Eylon’s fourth: law and order.

Fleisher defends wider gun licensing, tougher prisons and a ministry to encourage Gazans to emigrate. He proposes Hebrew classes to encourage Jewish immigration, while arguing to review whether Reform converts should even be eligible to make Israel their home.

Eylon presses him on Ben-Gvir’s hangman’s-noose imagery, Israel’s reputation and policing vigilante violence in Judea and Samaria.

The Israel Electioncast is for English-speaking Israelis and international viewers who want to understand what Israelis are really arguing about before the critical October 27 elections.

Produced by Leah Miller

Explore the series: https://www.eylonalevy.com/electioncast

Join my subscriber-only webinar on 26 October: https://patreon.com/eylonpodcast