Poll Shows Decline for Ultra-Orthodox Parties, Netanyahu Bloc Weakened

A new poll published in the Maariv newspaper indicates a significant drop for the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, with each losing one seat and falling to 6 mandates. This decline further weakens the bloc supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reducing it to 49 mandates. The Likud party remained unchanged with 18 seats. Otzma Yehudit gained one seat to reach 9, while Religious Zionism-Identity retained 6, and Amek Yisrael secured 4.

On the opposition's side, Benny Gantz's National Unity party saw a decrease to 22 mandates, while the Democrats gained two seats for a total of 11. Yachad maintained 13 seats, and Yisrael Beiteinu held 9. The union of reservists and the Economic party received 4 mandates. Among Arab parties, the Joint List garnered 7 seats, and Ra'am secured 5, bringing the total for the Zionist opposition to 55 mandates.

Several parties, including Blue and White led by Benny Gantz (1.3%), the ultra-Orthodox bloc led by Moti Leitner (0.9%), and Noam led by Avi Maoz (0.7%), fell below the electoral threshold. In head-to-head matchups for prime minister, Gadi Eisenkot polled at 47% compared to Netanyahu's 39%. Eisenkot also led against Naftali Bennett, with 46% choosing Bennett versus 42% for Netanyahu. However, Netanyahu held a slight edge over Avigdor Lieberman, 43% to 40%.

The poll also revealed that 48% of opposition voters prefer the party with the most mandates to lead the government. Regarding international standing, 62% of Israelis expressed concern over Israel's diminished global image, with 88% of opposition voters being worried, compared to 59% of coalition voters who were not.

The survey was conducted by Lazar Research in collaboration with Panel4ALL on September 23-24, with 610 respondents out of 4,217 participants, representing a margin of error of 4%.