Blessing or curse: Who is a Bibist? (Opinion)
An opinion piece examining the term 'Bibist' as a tool in the Israeli political-social struggle. The author argues that the label reflects the anxiety of an old elite ('Ashkenazi, secular, veteran, socialist, nationalist') over loss of power, and is used to silence legitimate discourse on the distribution of power between sociological groups, while highlighting ethnic and class aspects.
An opinion piece by Prof. Moshe Cohen-Eliya, published on Walla! News, examines the term 'Bibist' in the Israeli political-social context ahead of the elections for the 26th Knesset on October 27, 2026. The author argues that the term, used mainly by the 'Anyone but Bibi' camp, is not just a description of a Netanyahu voter but has become a curse that labels an entire group as a blind, primitive cult susceptible to manipulation. The article analyzes the use of the term as an expression of anxiety of a specific sociological group – which the author calls 'Ahusalim' (Ashkenazi, secular, veteran, socialist, and nationalist) – that has lost electoral control but still holds positions of power in the judiciary, academia, and media. The author quotes Razi Barkai's words 'the state is slipping through my hands' as an example of this sense of loss of control. The article links the labeling to the struggle over the distribution of political power, emphasizing the ethnic-class aspect, and quotes Naveh Dromi's question whether 'Bibists' are 'the chachchachim of yesteryear'. The author argues that silencing the voices of traditional Mizrahim through this labeling prevents rational discourse on a fair distribution of power.