Blame Russia, ignore the money? Israel’s election interference debate

As politicians point to Russia and Iran, an Israeli journalist argues that Western funding of media and NGOs deserves scrutiny As Israel prepares for the October 27 elections, accusations of foreign interference are intensifying.

While Israeli leaders have pointed to Iran, Russia, and China, journalist Nick Kolyohin argues that greater scrutiny should be directed at Western funding of Israeli media outlets and civil society organizations, which he believes may be influencing the country’s political discourse.

With election day approaching, political parties are stepping up efforts to attract voters and consolidate their support.

The right-wing camp, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is seeking to rally hawkish voters behind him, potentially at the expense of other conservative parties.

The opposition bloc is trying to persuade voters to abandon Netanyahu and shift their support to its side.

Yet the battle for the Israeli electorate is not being fought exclusively within the country’s borders.

Foreign actors are also seeking to shape the political landscape and influence the outcome of the election.

Read more Netanyahu survived his enemies.

Can he survive his own voters? Foreign meddling Several days ago, speaking to Channel 14, Netanyahu raised this concern.

“Iran is trying to damage the elections with the help of its terror arms Hamas and Hezbollah.

It is totally true – they say it openly that they need to topple me because their real desire is to destroy the State of Israel.” Iran, however, is not the only country accused of interference.

In July, speaking at the Knesset, opposition leader Yair Lapid also accused China and Russia of attempting to meddle.

“The elections are drawing closer.

Iran is involved, Russia is involved, and influence operations are running rampant on social media.