Don't waste your vote: What Israelis should consider before election day - opinion

Yisrael Medad offers a voter guide for the 2026 Knesset election, advising against wasting votes on parties near the threshold. He warns that polls have often been inaccurate, urges voters to examine party plans and candidate experience, and recommends voting for a program rather than against another party. No specific parties are named.

In this opinion piece published on October 25, 2026, Yisrael Medad offers a voter guide for the upcoming Knesset election, focusing on who not to vote for. He warns that polls have often failed to predict seat distribution accurately, citing pollster Mina Zemach's errors in 2003, 2006, and 2019. He calculates that crossing the electoral threshold requires between 154,000 and 177,500 votes depending on turnout, urging voters not to waste their vote on parties near the cutoff. Medad advises voters to examine whether parties present actual plans rather than slogans, whether proposals are achievable, and whether candidates have relevant experience. He recommends voting for a program rather than against another party, and stresses the importance of rhetorical skills for representing Israel internationally. He also warns about ideological reversals by politicians, token candidates on party lists, and media agenda-setting across channels 11, 12, and 14, as well as bots on social media. The piece does not name any specific party or candidate.