Jews and State of Israel Demonized in Global Commentary on Israeli Elections

Israel’s first parliamentary election since the Hamas-led terror attacks of October 7, 2023, drew the highest voter turnout in decades, an estimated 78 percent of registered voters and 80 percent turnout among Arab Israelis.

In English, Arabic, Persian and Turkish language commentary about the election analyzed by ADL, bad actors across the ideological spectrum used the elections to demonize Jews, Zionists, Israelis, and the State of Israel. These trends were observed across traditional media, social media, and in-person demonstrations.

According to preliminary analysis from the ADL Center on Extremism, the most commonly leveraged antisemitic themes in English-language posts about the election on X included the tropes of alleged Jewish or Zionist control, such as claims of "false flags" — a term that is frequently incorporated into antisemitic conspiracy theories and used to claim that something is the work of sinister forces rather than as it seems — and the use of the word “Jew” itself as an insult.

A visualization of the most common words appearing in antisemitic English-language posts analyzed by the ADL Center on Extremism about the Israeli election posted to X between October 20-28.

Coverage from the Middle East ranged from largely procedural reporting to inflammatory commentary that demonized Israeli society at large. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya offered a strong example of the former, carefully distinguishing exit-poll estimates from official results and explaining what is required to form a governing coalition. In contrast, a column in Egypt’s Youm7, a widely read online publication, used collectively dehumanizing language and Nazi analogies to characterize all Israeli voters.

Youm7 columnist Hazem Hussein depicted Israel’s election as an expression of collective moral depravity, writing in an October 27 opinion piece that Israeli society had made a "conscious transition from humanity to Nazi-like animality." He wrote that, through its election, Israel reveals itself as “a monster awaiting the completion of its birth at the ballot box,” when Israelis would freely choose to become "partners in shame."

Qatar's Al-Sharq daily, owned by a senior member of the Qatari ruling family, published a column by Jassem Al Shammari portraying Israel’s electorate as collectively complicit in violence. He claimed that “Zionist ballot boxes were designed from the skulls of Palestine’s martyrs” and that voting ink was “mixed with the blood of the martyrs and wounded.” Shammari further asserted that Israeli voters were “supporters of killing, terrorism and displacement,” presenting the election as proof that Israel’s democracy rests on “occupation and terrorism.”

(Screenshot / Instagram)

“Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar news, a pro-Hezbollah outlet, characterized Israel’s election with an image of a bloody skull used as ballot box. The caption emphasizes the first syllable of the Arabic word for democracy (al-dīmuqrāṭiyya), to give the double reading of “dam,” meaning “blood.” Beneath is the word “Zionism” crossed out. The image was reshared by antizionist groups in the United States.

In Iran, Tasnim News Agency, a semi-official news agency associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, described the Israeli election as "Competition in Brutality and Genocide in the Zionist Regime’s Elections."

@IRAN_GHANA, the official X handle of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Embassy in Ghana, echoed these sentiments, posting, "the death cult was at the ballot box today to decide who looks best covered in blood."

In Turkey, inflammatory commentary came from across the political spectrum, ranging from the far left to the Islamists.

(Screenshot / X)

Banners, including a sign placing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a dartboard target, at a rally organized by the far-left, antizionist and anti-Western Youth Union of Turkey (TGB), posted to X on October 24, 2026.

Youth Union of Turkey (TGB), a far-left, antizionist and anti-Western youth association, shared on its X account several photos of posters from an anti-Israel rally they held in front of the Israeli ambassador’s residence in Ankara days before the election that read: "We are announcing the election results of murderous Israel. Winners: Turkey, Palestine, Iran, Yemen. Losers: USA, Israel." 

"The Zionist mind knows only one thing: stealing the land of innocent Palestinians and shedding Muslim blood," wrote Mehmet Fatih Serdar, a former deputy chair of the Istanbul branch of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in an X post on October 26. He added, “even if you escape the torment of history, you will not escape the wrath of God. You will perish.”

(Screenshot / X)

An image posted to X by user “EllaBaker_” on October 27, 2026.

"Devotee of Resistance," a verified Turkish-language pro-Iranian regime and pro-Houthi handle on X, made genocidal calls to "wipe Israel off the face of the earth" in commenting about the Israeli election: "What difference will it [the election] make? One Terrorist will go, and another Terrorist will take their place. As long as the terrorist regime called Israel is not wiped off the face of the earth, people and humanity will not find peace. Down with Israel!"

In the West, the Israeli elections were similarly an opportunity for commentators to promote their longstanding antizionist views and, in some cases, antisemitic dual loyalty tropes and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. 

The most common themes appearing in antisemitic English-language posts analyzed by the ADL Center on Extremism about the Israeli election posted to X between October 20-28.

Several far-right American influencers utilized these tropes, including during podcast and livestream appearances. "Netanyahu is protecting his position at our expense, and the traitors, the Zionist Jews in this country, are his accomplices," white supremacist streamer Nick Fuentes said about the Israeli election during his "America First" show. 

Antisemitic influencer Sam Parker claimed "Bolshevik Zionist Jews" or Netanyahu himself could use "false flags" to provoke war between the U.S. and Iran and keep Netanyahu in power during an appearance on antisemitic conspiracy theorist Stew Peters's livestream show.

Antizionist commentators on the left generally focused on repeating longstanding calls to dismantle the world’s only Jewish state and eliminate Zionism. 

One joint post from multiple antizionist Instagram influencer accounts that have over five million combined followers declared, "Israel’s election doesn’t matter," characterizing the race as "Zionist vs. Zionist" and adding, "Israel’s elections won't end its genocide, apartheid, and wars. Only defeating Zionism will."

(Screenshots / Instagram)

Instagram and X posts about the Israeli elections made by antizionist organizations and on October 27, 2026.

"Regardless of who wins the election, Israeli apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians will continue, because the Israeli government is rooted in settler colonialism and racism," Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) also posted on social media.

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the largest socialist organization in the United States, announced an arms embargo campaign this week, describing it as "the next chapter in our organizing in solidarity with the struggle for Palestinian Liberation."

From state-aligned media in the Middle East to far-right streamers and antizionist organizations in the United States, the response to Israel's election showed that hostility toward Jews and the Jewish state can surface across the ideological spectrum.