'Israeli electorate has moved rightward: Many underestimated extent of fracture in Israeli society'

Erin Ogunkeye is pleased to welcome Dr. Shira Efron, RAND's Distinguished Israel Policy Chair. “Many of us, myself included, underestimated the extent of the fracture in Israeli society.” It reflects a political system in which ideological polarisation, the rightward shift of the Jewish electorate and the contested legitimacy of Arab political participation have sharply narrowed the possibilities for coalition-building. Dr. Efron illustrates a political landscape in which Netanyahu’s governing bloc has lost ground, yet still has “more cards, or better cards, to play,” she argues, whether throu