What stands behind the sleepy campaign a week and a half before the polls open

A week and a half before the elections, the campaign is unusually sleepy. Daphna Liel and Moshe Klughaft explain: the opposition bloc avoids protests so as not to energize the coalition, Eisenkot is deliberately running a low-key campaign, and Bennett is showing up in Likud strongholds. A 'Midgam' poll reveals that 50% of opposition voters see no need for protests.

A week and a half before the polls open, the election campaign is unusually sleepy. The article examines this phenomenon through interviews with Daphna Liel, Knesset correspondent for Channel 12, and Moshe Klughaft, a former campaign advisor to Netanyahu and Bennett. According to Liel, the opposition bloc is avoiding protests and demonstrations so as not to 'energize' the coalition bloc, assuming their supporter base is already mobilized. A poll by the 'Midgam' institute shows that 50% of opposition voters believe there is no need for protests. Klughaft explains that Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot is deliberately running a low-key campaign, aiming to keep dissatisfied right-wing voters at home. In contrast, Together chairman Naftali Bennett is showing up in Likud strongholds and seeking direct confrontation. The article also covers the 'big party campaign' – an attempt by Likud and Yashar to draw mandates from small parties, and Netanyahu's 'extinction campaign' against Ofer Winter. Additionally, poll data on support for a minority government with Ra'am's help, and the growing use of artificial intelligence in election ads, are presented.