This Night / Raanan Shaked

Raanan Shaked describes on election night the feeling of fateful waiting, the criticism from friends who returned from abroad about Israel's condition, and the disappointment over the lack of a clear victory. He attacks the polls and television models.

Raanan Shaked describes in a personal column his feelings on election night in Israel, comparing the wait for the sample results to waiting for the results of a fateful medical test. He tells of friends who returned from abroad especially to vote, and brings their criticism of Israel's deteriorating condition – lines at Ben Gurion Airport, the ugliness of the signs, violence, and prices. Shaked confesses that in the past he would answer them with optimism, but now he cannot. He claims that this evening, which could have been a victory, has become a terrible loss, and that the fact that Netanyahu was not defeated after October 7 is a severe personal defeat. He also sharply attacks the polls and television models, calling them fake news.