The Blogs: 'Break the promises': When Israel’s watchdogs become the advocates | Eitan Chikli

Eitan Chikli's opinion piece criticizes Israeli journalists who, after exit polls showed the Change Bloc winning, urged the bloc to break campaign promises, particularly on Haredi conscription, to form a government and remove Netanyahu. The author argues this undermines democratic accountability and the role of journalists as watchdogs.

Eitan Chikli's opinion piece on The Times of Israel criticizes several prominent Israeli journalists for urging the Change Bloc to break its campaign promises after exit polls indicated a victory. Ben Caspit, Ben-Dror Yemini, Amnon Abramovich, Raviv Drucker, and Yigal Guetta are named as commentators who argued that promises, especially regarding Haredi conscription, should be abandoned to form an alternative government and remove Benjamin Netanyahu from power. Chikli argues that this advice undermines democratic accountability, as it treats electoral commitments as disposable when they become inconvenient. He contrasts this with honest political compromise, where a leader explains changed circumstances to voters. The piece invokes Kant's categorical imperative and Hannah Arendt's warning about subordinating facts to political interests, and questions who holds journalists accountable when they shift from watchdogs to advocates for a political camp.