Israeli Left Loses Political Legitimacy Amid Ongoing Post-Election Conflict

Dr. Zvi Elhayani argues that Israel's main political crisis is no longer a simple right-left divide but a fundamental dispute over accepting election results. Since the 2022 elections, the Israeli left has increasingly refused to accept the legitimacy of the right-wing government, attempting to undermine its authority through protests, delegitimization campaigns, and external pressure.

Elhayani traces this shift back to the 1977 political realignment when the right became a stable majority, but notes that in recent years the left has abandoned democratic norms by not conceding defeat and instead portraying the government and its supporters as moral enemies. The "Kaplan protest" movement exemplified this by rejecting the government’s legitimacy and escalating to calls for non-compliance.

This delegitimization extended to millions of voters, framing them as a hostile group rather than political opponents, which Elhayani warns threatens the democratic fabric by turning political rivalry into a struggle over who has the right to participate in governance. The conflict also infiltrated Israel’s security institutions and involved international actors pressuring the elected government.

Looking ahead to the 2026 elections, Elhayani poses a critical question: if the left continues to reject election outcomes and bypass democratic processes, does it forfeit its legitimacy as a political contender? He suggests the real issue may no longer be whether the left will return to power, but whether it has politically exiled itself permanently from the Israeli public.

Elhayani is an architect and member of the Professors Forum for National Resilience and founder of the Israeli Architecture Archive.