Haredi parties, Yashar, coalition bloc lose seats in Knesset, as Otzma Yehudit gains one - poll

SEPTEMBER 25, 2026 08:10The coalition bloc fell by one seat to just 49 as both haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties lost one seat each, according to a Maariv poll published on Friday.The poll also found that Otzma Yehudit gained one seat, rising to nine, while Likud remained at 18 seats, Religious Zionism-Zehut at six, and People of Israel at four.In the opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar continued its downward trend, losing another seat this week to stand at 22.Elsewhere in the bloc, the Democrats gained two seats to reach 11, while B’Yachad remained at 13 and Yisrael Beytenu at nine. The joint Reservists-Economic Party remained at four seats, while the Arab parties also remained unchanged with a combined 12 seats. Overall, the Zionist opposition bloc gained one seat, rising to 55.Meanwhile, Blue and White, led by Benny Gantz, received 1.3% of the vote; the Haredi Public party, led by Moti Leitner, received 0.9%; and Noam for Israel, led by Avi Maoz, received 0.7%. None crossed the electoral threshold.Illustrative: A voting box in the an Israeli election in 2015. (credit: REUTERS)Asked which party they would vote for if Knesset elections were held now, respondents gave Yashar! 22 seats, Likud 18, B’Yachad 13, the Democrats 11, Yisrael Beytenu nine, Otzma Yehudit nine, the Joint Arab List seven, United Torah Judaism six, Shas six, Religious Zionism-Zehut six, Ra’am five, People of Israel four, and the Reservists-Economic Party four.Eisenkot, Bennett leading Netanyahu for prime ministerThe Maariv poll also found that Eisenkot continued to lead Benjamin Netanyahu in a head-to-head question on suitability to serve as prime minister, with an eight-percentage-point advantage. Eisenkot received 47% support, compared with 39% for Netanyahu.Naftali Bennett also led Netanyahu, receiving 46% compared with Netanyahu’s 42%. Avigdor Liberman, meanwhile, narrowed the gap with Netanyahu to three percentage points, with Netanyahu receiving 43% and Liberman 40%.The survey also found that nearly half of opposition party voters, 48%, would prefer the party leaders to announce now that the head of whichever opposition list wins the most seats would become their candidate for prime minister.About a quarter, 23%, said the bloc should decide and announce now who its candidate for prime minister will be. Another 18% preferred to leave the decision until after the election, while 11% said they did not know.About one-third of Israelis, 34%, said they want Netanyahu to serve as prime minister after the election, driven in large part by the fact that 82% of coalition bloc voters chose him.Among opposition party voters, Eisenkot was the leading choice, with 50% saying they wanted him to be the next prime minister. Bennett followed with 25% support among opposition bloc voters, followed by Yair Lapid with 11%, Netanyahu with 5%, and Liberman with 3%.Broken down by support for individual opposition parties, most voters chose the leader of their preferred party as their candidate for prime minister. Support for Eisenkot among Yashar voters, at 88%, was higher than the 78% support Bennett received among B’Yachad voters.Majority of Israelis unconcerned about international standingThe Maariv poll further found that a majority of Israelis, 62%, were concerned about what the survey described as Israel’s low standing internationally. Another 31% said they were not concerned, while 7% had no opinion.A clear divide emerged between coalition and opposition voters. A majority of coalition voters, 59%, said they were not concerned, while an overwhelming 88% of opposition voters said they were concerned, including 54% who said they were very concerned.The poll was conducted by Lazar Research, headed by Dr. Menachem Lazar, in cooperation with Panel4ALL, on Wednesday and Thursday, September 23-24. A total of 4,217 people were invited to participate, with 610 respondents, or 14%, completing the survey. The respondents constituted a representative sample of Israel’s adult population aged 18 and over, including Jews and Arabs. The poll had a maximum sampling error of 4%.Follow us on Google