Three Quarters of Israeli Youth Vote Right-Wing

Israeli youth are rallying behind right-wing politics at rates that surprise many observers. A new poll reveals something stark: roughly three quarters of Jewish first-time voters describe themselves as right or centre-right. That number dwarfs the rest of Israeli society, which has been drifting right for years anyway. These young adults stand in sharp contrast to their peers around the globe who lean left. They are heading the other way.

The upcoming elections, the first in four years, have drawn a record crowd of new faces at the ballot box. The Central Elections Committee confirms more than half a million voters joined the roll since 2022. Most fall between ages 18 and 22. Polls indicate eighty percent of them intend to cast ballots on October 27 for the legislature. Despite limited activism in the public sphere, a survey by the Israel Democracy Institute found a majority believe the ballot box can change reality. They want to shape their country's future. But what does that future look like?

This generation is now known as "Generation Right." The label applies to Jewish youth but explicitly excludes Palestinian citizens of Israel. The stakes are high. These elections follow the October 7, 2023 attack and will determine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's survival and his right-wing agenda. Critics accuse this longest-serving prime minister of courting far-right politicians to stay in power. They point to his appointment of extreme figures like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Those moves allegedly empowered radical camps and made their policies mainstream.

Smotrich's vision from 2017 remains chillingly clear. He argued Israelis would keep self-determination while Palestinians faced emigration, no political representation, or treatment as "terrorists." By 2022 he held a defence portfolio where he facilitated land grabs and supported the illegal settlement enterprise in the occupied West Bank. Incitement against Palestinians has grown more common since then.

Evidence of this shift appears in disturbing places. Lior Schleien, a left-wing satirist, visited schools to speak with students before their army service. His videos aim to help Israelis and the world understand the younger generation. In one clip, a young man told Schleien he would kill Arabs if given a knife. When asked if October 7 changed his mind, the student replied, "I've always been racist," adding that Arabs shouldn't live in Israel. The video removed after public backlash because it shielded the student's identity only partially. In another town hall meeting, Schleien addressed whether innocent people exist in Gaza.

When asked directly if Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, Schleien flatly denied it. A female student then stepped forward and asked, "Do you think it should be done?" She insisted the question was serious despite his unimpressed look, while her friend next to them chuckled quietly.

At a recent gathering of young left-leaning Democrats supporters in Tel Aviv, eighteen-year-old Gili told AFP that she believes Israeli society has completely abandoned any hope for peace. The scars from October 7 have planted deep fear among the people, making it difficult for them to accept that peace is ever achievable again. While the attacks on October 7 may have sped up a shift toward the right and far-right, many argue this drift has been happening for years already. A survey by Yedioth Ahronoth shows more than sixteen percent of new voters plan to cast their ballot for far-right parties instead.

Standing in a large field in southern Israel, eighteen-year-old Amihai wore a shirt featuring the photo of far-right minister Ben-Gvir. The event he attended called for establishing illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory without permission. Speaking with other young activists overlooking destroyed parts of the Gaza Strip, Amihai said he plans to vote for Otzma Yehudit, the party led by Ben-Gvir who lives in an illegal settlement inside the occupied West Bank. Although Ben-Gvir failed to pass the threshold in 2020 elections, he secured a central position within Netanyahu's 2022 government.

In the years since that appointment, the minister seems to have learned how to speak the language of Israel's youth perfectly. Despite being convicted for supporting terror organizations and other criminal offenses, Israeli surveys show a significant chunk of his potential supporters are first-time voters in this election. Ben-Gvir uses his position to lobby for his no-nonsense policies without holding back any words. As a minister he often visits Israeli jails and detention centers to threaten Palestinian prisoners as well as international activists while ensuring cameras capture every moment. His videos go viral constantly, earning him more youth support beyond his usual base of settlers like the violent Hilltop Youth group where some members have faced sanctions from both the European Union and United Kingdom.

The IDI survey found that social media platforms and messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram serve as key sources of information for these young people. These feeds expose them to political content passively rather than through active searching by individuals themselves. It is a language Ben-Gvir understands completely now.