Bibi or Anti-Bibi: The Struggle That Continues to Shape Israeli Politics

A commentary article by Moshe Cohen-Eliya in Maariv examines the political struggle in Israel ahead of the 2026 elections through the prism of the nickname "Bibist." The author argues that the label reflects a deeper struggle over identity, status, and power centers between sociological groups in Israel, and that the discourse surrounding Netanyahu reveals the old elite's anxiety over loss of control.

A commentary article by Moshe Cohen-Eliya in Maariv, published on September 22, 2026, examines the political struggle in Israel ahead of the 2026 elections through the prism of the nickname "Bibist." The author argues that the label reflects a spillover of the political debate from the question of Netanyahu's suitability for prime minister onto his voters, and that it expresses the anxiety of a particular sociological group over a change in the Israeli power structure. According to him, this group, which saw itself as the natural heir of the statehood, Mapainik, educated, secular, and Western Israel, gradually lost electoral control but continued to hold significant positions of power in the judiciary, academia, media, and senior civil service. The author notes that the right, he says, was naive, and that Begin believed "there are judges in Israel" and led to the appointment of Aharon Barak to the Supreme Court. Cohen-Eliya argues that the sociological groups on the political right—the traditional Mizrahim (broadly referred to as "Bibists") and the religious Zionists with the Haredim—are no longer willing to accept this and are working to dismantle the "judicialization of politics." The article quotes a radio interview in which Razi Barkai said that even after Netanyahu leaves, we will remain with the "problem of the Bibists," and described his feeling in the words: "the state is slipping through my hands." The author argues that this sentence reflects the essence of the struggle for control and ownership of the state, and that silencing the voice of traditional Mizrahim while labeling them as "Bibists" does not allow for discourse based on rational arguments.