Knesset Election Data Reveals Deep Socioeconomic Voting Divides in Israel
Data from the 26th Knesset elections shows affluent Israeli localities favoring the anti-Netanyahu bloc, while Netanyahu's camp gained stronger support in lower socioeconomic clusters.
The 26th Knesset elections have revealed a familiar socioeconomic voting pattern across Israeli localities, according to vote-counting data. Affluent localities heavily favored the anti-Netanyahu bloc, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's camp gained increasing support as localities dropped in the Central Bureau of Statistics' socioeconomic index, which ranks municipalities from 1 to 10.
In the highest socioeconomic clusters, 9 and 10, the anti-Netanyahu bloc secured 82.7% of the vote in Jewish localities based on 70.7% of counted ballots, compared to just 17.3% for Netanyahu's camp. Gadi Eisenkot led significantly in these wealthy areas with 38.1%, followed by The Democrats with 18.2% and BeYachad with 18.1%. Likud captured 12.1%. In clusters 7 and 8, the anti-Netanyahu bloc maintained a 71.7% majority among Jewish voters, representing approximately 461,000 ballots, where Eisenkot garnered 28.8% and Likud reached 16.3%.
Socioeconomic Shifts and Lower Clusters
A pivotal shift occurred in clusters 5 and 6, where Netanyahu's camp secured a 51.3% majority, totaling about 415,000 votes against 394,000 for the opposition. Likud captured roughly 30% of the vote in these mid-tier localities, while Eisenkot dropped to 18.2%. In lower socioeconomic clusters 3 and 4, Netanyahu's camp surged to 67.1% in Jewish localities.
In the lowest clusters, 1 and 2, Netanyahu's camp commanded 92% of the vote, driven largely by United Torah Judaism at 45.8% and Shas at 22.6%, while Likud received 8.8%. When incorporating Arab localities into the equation across lower clusters, the totals shift significantly, adding substantial support for opposition-aligned parties.
