The first preliminary bill to dissolve the Knesset ahead of looming elections passed yesterday. The announcement, while both expected and anxiously awaited, comes at an extremely difficult moment in Israeli history. The outcome will undoubtedly shape how millions of Israelis and American Jews choose to engage in Israel’s future.

At the New Israel Fund, we are focused on the most important aspect of this democratic process: that elections are free and fair. We are dedicated to ensuring that each and every citizen enjoys their right to vote.

This will be the first time Israelis head to the polls since October 7, since multiple bouts of relentless war in Gaza, in Lebanon, and with Iran. Israeli society is deeply divided on myriad issues from the mandatory military draft to the judicial overhaul. And many of the loudest voices from across the Israeli political spectrum have already begun to use their campaigns as an opportunity to force fragmentation, instead of platforming partnership.

Earlier this........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)