Generals vs. Netanyahu: Israel’s election is turning into a real political war
Israel's Oct. 27 Knesset election will feature 38 electoral lists to choose from set against the background of an ongoing war with Iran in a nation on the brink of civil strife. Most of all, however, the vote will be a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As politicians divvy up parliamentary seats that they have yet to win, polls offer neither the right-wing bloc nor the opposition…
Dan Finel, a 27-year-old French immigrant who moved to Israel in September 2024, has created a platform called knesset2026.com to help new olim (immigrants) navigate the upcoming 2026 Israeli election. Finel built the website to assist users in understanding Israeli politics by providing a free, user-friendly online questionnaire.
Users can answer 16 questions to determine which candidate aligns best with their views. The platform is available in multiple languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Hebrew.
Finel, who is learning Hebrew as a data scientist at Similarweb, designed the platform after realizing that many olim struggle to find information about Israeli candidates in languages other than Hebrew. He conducted interviews with olim from various countries and discovered that it's challenging for them to follow the news online in foreign languages.
The platform updates its questions regularly and sends daily news emails about Israeli politics in users' preferred language, complete with a review of the latest election polling results.
Born and raised in Paris to a traditional Zionist family, Finel has visited Israel annually since he was six years old. Although he is the first in his immediate family to make aliyah, his grandparents live in Ashdod, and he has relatives in Givat Shmuel and Tel Aviv. While studying at a top business school in France, Finel participated in the Jewish Agency's Masa Israel Journey career development program, specifically the Israel Tech Challenge (ITC) initiative.
During his six-month internship, he met Susana Arditti, who is now his wife. They both decided to move to Israel after meeting in Masa.
Finel officially made aliyah in September 2024 and has been living in Israel for over two years. He has experienced the challenges of living through war and bombings, but he emphasizes that the people in Israel have been incredibly supportive and welcoming. Finel enjoys the warmth of Israeli culture, the quality of life, and the authenticity of communication.
He particularly appreciates the directness and openness of discussions in Israel, which he finds rare in France. Finel's favorite aspect of Israeli life is the people, and he is actively working to promote unity among Israelis by encouraging people to come together, despite their differing opinions.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
