Israel cannot defeat extremism by embracing it - opinion

NOVEMBER 1, 2026 16:00I have spent years protesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I have marched, demonstrated, spoken out, and argued that Israel deserves better leadership. I want Netanyahu out of power. I want accountability for the failures that brought us here, and I want a government that can begin rebuilding public trust.But I cannot support replacing one form of extremism with another.Now that Israelis have voted, we are once again facing difficult questions about what kind of government should lead this country. And I know that for many people, the priority is simple: anything that gets Netanyahu out. I understand that feeling. I share much of the frustration behind it.But at what cost?If removing Netanyahu means abandoning the values we claim to be fighting for, then what exactly have we achieved? What does it mean to defend Israeli democracy while making political compromises that undermine the principles we want that democracy to protect?Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu at the Likud party’s election headquarters at Binyanei HaUma (Jerusalem International Convention Center) in Jerusalem, following Israel’s general elections, early October 28, 2026. (credit: Chaim Goldbergl/Flash90)I do not want National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in the next government. Their politics, rhetoric, and vision for Israel are fundamentally incompatible with the country I believe in. I do not want a government that threatens equality, individual freedoms, or the democratic institutions that are supposed to protect every citizen.And for the same reason, I cannot support bringing the Joint List into a governing coalition simply as a means of removing Netanyahu.This is not an argument against Arab citizens of Israel. It is not an argument against their right to vote, run for office, represent their communities, or participate fully in the political life of this country. Arab citizens are an essential part of Israeli society, and their representation in the Knesset is a democratic right.It is also important to distinguish between the Joint List and Ra’am. They are not the same political proposition. Ra’am has already been part of a governing coalition, and I believe it should be again. Its participation demonstrated that an Arab party can work within Israel’s political system, negotiate over concrete issues, and help govern the country.I have no objection to that. In fact, I believe it is important.The Joint List is a different story. It brings together parties with distinct political identities and platforms, and I do not believe those differences should be brushed aside in the name of political arithmetic.In particular, Balad’s vision of Israel as a “state of all its citizens” represents a fundamental disagreement with my understanding of Israel as both the nation-state of the Jewish people and a democracy that guarantees equal rights to all its citizens.I believe those two commitments must exist together. Israel’s Jewish identity should never be an excuse to deny equality to Arab citizens. And equality for Arab citizens should not require abandoning the Jewish national character of the state.The Declaration of Independence makes both commitments: it establishes the state as a Jewish state while promising complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants, regardless of religion, race, or sex.On women’s rights, I want to be precise. Balad’s platform does explicitly support gender equality and the advancement of women. But broad commitments to equality are not the same as clear positions on a woman’s right to choose, reproductive autonomy, or access to abortion.And when it comes to same-sex marriage and trans rights, I have not found clear, explicit commitments in the party’s published platform. That does not mean I can claim Balad opposes these rights.It does mean that, on issues that are central to the freedoms and equality I want protected in Israel, I want more than ambiguity. I want to know exactly where the parties seeking to govern stand.The difference between compromise and surrenderThese are not fringe issues to me. They are part of the country I want to live in. I want women to have control over their own bodies. I want lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Israelis to live openly and equally, without having to wonder whether their rights are negotiable.I want every citizen to enjoy the same protections under the law. And I want a government that is willing to defend those freedoms clearly and consistently.I also refuse to pretend that the only choices available to us are between Jewish extremists and Muslim extremists. That is a false choice, and it is dangerous. Israel is far more complicated, diverse, and hopeful than that.I can oppose Ben-Gvir and Smotrich without supporting the Joint List. I can believe Arab citizens deserve genuine political representation without agreeing with every party that claims to represent them. I can want Netanyahu gone without treating his removal as a justification for abandoning my principles.This is not about demanding ideological uniformity. A democracy requires compromise. Coalition governments require working with people we disagree with. I understand that, and I do not expect every party in a coalition to share my worldview.But there is a difference between compromise and surrendering the values that define the country we are trying to build. There is a difference between working with political partners who disagree with you on policy and legitimizing a political vision that you believe fundamentally conflicts with the future of the state.I am a liberal Zionist. I believe in Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, and I believe that commitment must go hand-in-hand with democracy, equality, human rights, and individual freedom. Those principles are not competing loyalties. They are the reason I continue to fight for this country.I want an Israel that lives up to the promise of its Declaration of Independence. An Israel where Jewish identity and democratic values strengthen one another, rather than being used as weapons against each other.An Israel where Arab citizens have a meaningful place in public life, where women have autonomy, where LGBTQ+ people are equal, and where no extremist faction gets to dictate the rights and freedoms of everyone else.I have spent years fighting against Netanyahu because I believe Israel deserves better. I will not stop demanding better now. But I will not measure political success only by who is removed from power. I will measure it by what we are willing to protect, and what kind of country we are building in the process.I want my daughter to grow up in an Israel that is secure, democratic, Jewish, and free. I want her to inherit a country that does not have to choose between its identity and its values.And I refuse to believe that defeating extremism requires us to embrace it.The writer is an activist and content creator. A third-generation IDF veteran with over a decade in Israel advocacy, she has created and executed content for dozens of major organizations. She is an associate at the Tel Aviv Institute.Follow us on Google