Dr. Uzi Eran: Changing voting and partners without giving up identity

Dr. Uzi Eran analyzes the election results in Kiryat Shmona, where Likud won about 48% despite the heavy damage the city suffered during the war. He offers an explanation from social identity theory for loyalty to Netanyahu, and examines the possibility of changing voting while maintaining camp identity, as well as a coalition partnership between Yisrael Beiteinu and Ra'am.

Dr. Uzi Eran, a researcher in the psychology of law and decision-making, analyzes the election results in Kiryat Shmona, where Likud won about 48% of the vote and the outgoing coalition parties about 69% – despite the heavy damage the city suffered during the war: evacuation of residents, rocket fire, destruction of homes, and damage to commerce. He asks how such deep loyalty to Benjamin Netanyahu is maintained, and offers an explanation from social identity theory: belonging to a group becomes part of the self, and defending the party is perceived as self-defense. However, he suggests that a different vote, even a one-time one, may be experienced as a response to leadership failure rather than as abandoning identity, using the concept of 'dual identity' – belonging to the political camp and simultaneously to a broader civic identity. The article also discusses the possibility of coalition cooperation between Yisrael Beiteinu and Ra'am, while maintaining separate identities.