Story AnalysisWorldNews report

Israeli election to test Benjamin Netanyahu's ability to hold power

On Tuesday, Israel will hold its first parliamentary elections since the October 7, 2023 terror attacks. Essentially one man is on the ballot: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. How might Israeli policy change if the opposition succeeds?

CBS NewsPublished Oct 25, 1:27 PMAnalyzed on October 25, 2026

This page is Both News's AI analysis of the article, not the article itself. Read the full story on the publisher's site.

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Our verdict

Political lean

◀ Slightly Left

3.0 / 10

◀ Left 10Center10 Right ▶

0 = center. The further from 0, the stronger the lean (max 10).

Reporting balance

Somewhat one-sided

52 / 100

How complete and even-handed the reporting is — separate from which side it leans.

The article leans against Netanyahu and the right, mostly through who is quoted and how the protests are framed: its opening accusations and closing hope come from critics, and the government and campaign are absent. Its main strength is attribution and an analyst who acknowledges Netanyahu could still govern, and its headline matches the body. Readers should note the missing government response and the unsourced poll and 'nearly a third' figures before relying on the story's account of the race.

Why this lean: The story opens with anti-government protesters calling the government 'criminals' and a 'dictatorship' and closes with Moses hoping for a government 'more middle, or a little bit left'. The main analytical voice (Scheindlin) explains the opposition's appeal in positive terms ('more pragmatic') and the only pro-Netanyahu speaker is a market vendor. Netanyahu's own case is never put in his words, and the right is framed by a poster ('Right or Palestine') and by the claim that October 7 'moved many Israelis further to the right' without a source. Partly offset by Abraham's enthusiastic quotes and Scheindlin's caveat that Netanyahu could still govern. Lean is a government-critical slant with a leftward tilt in the article's own framing.
Framing: Told through anti-Netanyahu voices and the protest movement, treating whether Netanyahu can hold power after October 7 as the central question.

Key Findings

1The article opens and closes with critics of the government: the protester's 'dictatorship' and 'criminals' quotes lead, and Moses's hope for a government 'more middle, or a little bit left' closes the main body. Netanyahu's supporters get one vendor (Abraham) and no institutional voice.
2Netanyahu himself and any government or Likud spokesperson are absent, even though the article reports the October 7 inquiry demand and the judicial changes, which are the government's central issues. The line 'Netanyahu's campaign has framed these elections as existential' carries no quote or source.
3Strength: the analyst's answer is balanced by her closing caveat that Netanyahu 'could still be prime minister a year from now', and she acknowledges his 'more experience than anybody else' in coalition bargaining, which cuts against the article's general tilt.
4Several figures and framings lack sources: 'Nearly a third of the residents of her kibbutz' (Moses), 'Polls show Eisenkot's party with a clear lead' (no poll named), and '39 parties'. An unsourced editorial line, 'October 7th moved many Israelis further to the right – but Moses.', characterises the electorate without evidence.
5Analyst Dahlia Scheindlin's description of Eisenkot's rivals as 'religious extremists', 'right-wing ultra-nationalist populists' and 'Jewish supremacists' runs unchallenged; a reader gets no response from the parties or any counter-analyst.
6Abraham's praise of Netanyahu ('He's the king of Israel') is quoted in full and is the only pro-Netanyahu voice, giving the Netanyahu camp some visibility, though one vendor's enthusiasm is not a substitute for the campaign's own case.

Who gets a voice

Unnamed woman at Tel Aviv protest
Protester at the anti-government march
Anti-government protestMinor voice
Benny Abraham
Restaurant owner, market visitor
Pro-Netanyahu supporterMinor voice
Liat and Sharon
Market visitors (husband and wife)
Anti-Netanyahu ('Anyone but Bibi')Minor voice
Margalit Moses
80-year-old Oct 7 kidnapping survivor from Nir Oz
Anti-government, pro-peace with ArabsMain voice
Dahlia Scheindlin
Political analyst
Analyst view favouring the opposition with a caveat for NetanyahuMain voice
Gadi Eisenkot
Former military chief of staff, leading opposition figure (paraphrased only)
Opposition leaderMinor voice
Netanyahu's campaign (unnamed)
Source of the 'existential' framing, not quoted
Government/campaignMinor voice

Loaded language

In the articleMore neutral

“criminals”→ people the protester accuses of wrongdoing (the article should name the specific accusation and attribute it)

Presents a political accusation as fact by placing it in the article's opening without challenge or response.

“Jewish supremacists”→ critics who describe far-right coalition partners as supremacist, per Scheindlin

A strong charge from an analyst that is not contextualised or balanced by a view from the parties concerned.

“the anti-Bibi”→ the opposition's leading candidate, seen by many as a challenge to Netanyahu

Labels Eisenkot by his opposition to Netanyahu rather than by his own platform.

“controversial changes sidelining the country's judiciary”→ judicial changes that critics say weaken the courts, with the government's rationale stated

'Sidelining' is an evaluative verb that presents the critics' view as the description, without the government's reasoning.

“Right or Palestine”→ a campaign poster reading 'Right or Palestine', with the source and intended message stated

Presented without attribution or explanation, so the reader cannot tell who made it or what it means.

Dimension Breakdown

Source Diversity5/10

Mostly ordinary citizens and one analyst; the Netanyahu side has one vendor quote, and no government, Likud or campaign spokesperson is quoted, though the article cites 'Netanyahu's campaign' without attribution.

Language Neutrality6/10

Most material is attributed, but 'Jewish supremacists', 'criminals' and 'the anti-Bibi' appear without challenge, and 'October 7th moved many Israelis further to the right – but Moses.' is an unsourced editorial generalisation.

Data Balance4/10

Figures such as 'Nearly a third of the residents of her kibbutz' and 'Polls show Eisenkot's party with a clear lead' have no source, poll name or base rate, and no inconvenient data is offered.

Perspective Completeness5/10

The anti-Netanyahu side is heard at length (protesters, Moses, Scheindlin, Eisenkot paraphrased), while Netanyahu's side gets one market vendor and a poster; the government's response to the protests and the inquiry demand is missing.

Headline Accuracy8/10

The headline's claim that the election tests Netanyahu's hold on power matches the body, which includes Scheindlin's view that he could still be prime minister a year from now.

Context Sufficiency6/10

Judicial changes, the corruption trial, the October 7 warnings and the Trump endorsement are named, but none is explained or sourced beyond a link, and the reader is not told what the government says about them.

Missing Perspectives

Netanyahu, Likud or the government's response to the protests, the October 7 inquiry demand and the trial, which would let readers judge the criticism directly.
Eisenkot's own words; his views are only paraphrased or characterised by an analyst and by the article's own description.
The reasons supporters give for backing Netanyahu on security and the judiciary, beyond one vendor's praise of his 'charismatic' style.
Sources for the polling and seat-count claims, and any independent analyst who disagrees with Scheindlin's characterisation of the opposition.

Highlighted Passages

“October 7th moved many Israelis further to the right – but Moses.”

An unsourced generalisation about the electorate, presented as fact and then used to contrast with Moses's view.

“Netanyahu's campaign has framed these elections as existential for Israelis.”

The campaign's position is characterised with no quote, source or example of how it was stated.

“We cannot be a dictatorship!" said one woman. "And we cannot have these criminals running our country.”

The article opens with a strong political accusation from a protester and does not include any response from the government or the people accused.

“Polls show Eisenkot's party with a clear lead, but to form a government he'd likely have to build a coalition with at least four other parties”

A poll claim with no pollster, date or margin of error, which the reader cannot verify.

Key Facts

According to the article, tens of thousands marched in Tel Aviv demanding a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 attacks, and Tuesday's vote is the first parliamentary election since those attacks.
The article says 39 parties are running in the election (no source given).
According to the article, Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff, left Netanyahu's government in 2024, accusing him of prolonging the war and delaying a hostage deal to appease right-wing coalition partners.
Margalit Moses, 80, was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7; the article states that nearly a third of the residents of Nir Oz were killed or captured (no source given).
Political analyst Dahlia Scheindlin says Eisenkot is unlikely to dramatically change course on the wars in Gaza and Iran, which are of most concern to President Trump and the U.S.
The article says President Trump endorsed Netanyahu, with a link to the endorsement story.
The article says polls show Eisenkot's party with a clear lead, but he would likely need a coalition with at least four other parties (no poll named).
Scheindlin says it is 'Absolutely' possible Netanyahu could still be prime minister a year from now.