Israel's political barometer: "This time it's completely different, you can see it in the field"

A field report from Haifa on the day of the 26th Knesset elections brings diverse voices from the street: Netanyahu supporters, voters seeking a change of government, a resident who returned to vote after 23 years, and a father whose daughters flew from Berlin to vote. The voter turnout in the city stood at 27.3% as of 2:00 PM. Prof. Bari analyzes the different voting patterns between the city's neighborhoods.

A Ma'ariv field report from Haifa on the day of the 26th Knesset elections, October 27, 2026, examines the mood in the city and voting patterns. The voter turnout in the city stood at 27.3% as of 2:00 PM, compared to 55.53% in the 2022 elections. The report brings diverse voices from the street: Netanyahu supporters who see him as a strong leader and hope he will end the wars; voters seeking a change of government, one of whom said 'this time it's completely different, people are crazy to replace him'; a resident who returned to vote after 23 years and said 'Bibi, one and only'; and a father who said his daughters flew from Berlin especially to vote, but cannot live in Israel. Prof. Bari explains that Haifa is not a uniform city and that voting patterns vary between the affluent Carmel neighborhoods, Hadar, Neve Sha'anan, and the coastal neighborhoods. He notes that the relatively low voter turnout compared to other cities stems from a lack of social pressure in a large and mixed city, as opposed to smaller and more homogeneous communities.