Jerusalem, 23 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — A growing number of religious voters are abandoning Likud for the parties led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to polling analysis published ahead of Israel’s next Knesset election.
Five polls conducted over the past month by Channel 13 pollster Shmuel Rosner found that 56% of religious voters who supported Likud in the 2022 election have since moved to other parties.
Pollster Menachem Lazar disputes Rosner’s explanation that disgust with corruption is driving the shift. Lazar points instead to Likud’s primaries, in which few religious candidates secured realistic positions. According to his latest polls, fewer than 20% of religious voters now support Likud.
Both pollsters identify a shift among religious and traditional voters in peripheral communities toward Ben-Gvir. Rosner says alternatives include Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, while more protest-minded voters may turn to Ofer Winter. Lazar estimates that 15% support opposition-bloc parties and another 15% back Ben-Gvir.
