A massive crowd flooded the streets of Tel Aviv this Saturday, marking a final push in the days leading up to an Israeli general election that feels increasingly like a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership. Organized by the October Council—a group representing families of those killed or taken hostage during the October 7 Hamas attacks—the rally served as a loud demand for accountability regarding the government’s failure to prevent the violence. With opposition figures, including former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, standing alongside protesters, the demonstration highlighted deep public frustration with the current administration’s refusal to launch an independent state commission of inquiry into the security failures.

The political atmosphere remains volatile as the country heads to the polls, with recent polling suggesting that neither the governing coalition nor the opposition bloc is guaranteed a decisive majority. Beyond the search for accountability, voters expressed deep concern over Israel's increasing international isolation and the economic repercussions of the ongoing conflict. Tensions escalated further when Netanyahu recently hinted at the need for an alternative digital economy, a proposal mocked by opposition leaders like Eisenkot as "bbCoin." As the campaign concludes, the discourse has shifted from security to survival, with critics warning that the Prime Minister’s policies threaten to alienate Israel from the global economy and its essential allies.