On Tuesday, Israelis will head to the polls for an election that the international press has described as Israel’s most consequential in decades — if not ever. The outcome will determine whether Israel continues its march to the ultraright, in which extremist political parties increasingly serve as kingmakers, or whether it reorients to the more balanced position that many Israelis in the dwindling political left and center believe is key to rebuilding the country’s international partnerships.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving premier, has his back against the wall. The Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas, which killed around 1,200 people, occurred on Netanyahu’s watch.

Yet the prime minister has dodged all accountability for the massive security lapses, refused to support an independent commission of inquiry on that dark day and has catapulted Israel into a series of wars in the Middle East that have eroded its global image and at times caused tension with the United States, its most important backer. Israeli troops are now deployed in Syria, Lebanon and, of course, Gaza, where the 3-year-old war with Hamas that was supposed to end with a ceasefire has instead become a perpetual Israeli occupation with no end in sight.

Netanyahu is feeling the heat, pleading with President Donald Trump for more support on the eve of the election. Trump obliged over the weekend, writing directly to Israelis that “when you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding warrior prime........

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