As Israelis prepare to vote in the upcoming January 22 election, academics and pundits are increasingly skeptical of claims that the electorate has fundamentally moved to the right or left in either composition or ideology. Combining converging polling data with qualitative analysis, an article published in Tablet suggests that the actual dynamic is one of depolarization and consensus in the ideological middle. Regardless of party affiliation, a majority of Israeli voters – including those from parties on the center-right, including the Likud Party and Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home Party – continue to support the creation of a Palestinian state in the context of a robust peace deal.

[Photo: Yiftach T / Wiki Commons]