‘Peace is not in people’s minds’: October 7 scars push Israel’s first-time voters further right
NIR AM, Oct 10 — Like hundreds of thousands of Israelis, Amihai will be of voting age for the first time sinc...
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a devastating attack on Israel, marking the deadliest day in Israeli history and pushing first-time voters further right. As Israeli citizens turned 18 and gained the right to vote, security became a top priority. Amihai, an 18-year-old from Shomria, plans to vote for the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's ultra-nationalist party, emphasizing deterrence and the eradication of terrorists.
Roughly 550,000 Israelis aged 18 to 22 will vote for the first time, with 74% describing their policy views as right or center-right. This shift contrasts with left-leaning tendencies seen in Western democracies, as Amir Scheindlin, a pollster and analyst, notes that Israeli youth now view peace as improbable under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ultra-nationalist environment.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
