Young Israeli Jewish voters lean strongly to the right ahead of election

Israel's upcoming elections, the first in four years, have drawn a record number of first-time voters, with most saying they intend to use their vote. Unlike many young people elsewhere who tend to support left-leaning politics, young adults in Israel appear to be moving in the opposite direction, according to recent survey data.

The Israeli Central Elections Committee reports that more than half a million new voters, aged 18 to 22, have been added to the electoral roll since the previous election in 2022. Polling indicates that around 80 percent of this group plan to cast a ballot in the legislative election scheduled for October 27.

While political activism among this age group remains limited, research from the Israel Democracy Institute found that most young Jewish Israelis believe voting can genuinely influence the country's direction.

A separate poll conducted for Channel 12 found that roughly three-quarters of first-time Jewish voters describe themselves as right-wing or centre-right, a notably higher proportion than in the broader population, which has itself been trending rightward for several years. This cohort has been labelled Generation Right, a term applied specifically to young Jewish Israelis rather than the country's Palestinian citizens.

The vote marks the first since the October 7, 2023 attack and is expected to be deeply divisive, with significant implications for the political future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing governing approach.