Iran Threat and US Midterms: The Week Ahead in Israel and Beyond
From coalition talks in Jerusalem to Trump's midterm test in Washington, plus Bnei Akiva's organization month and the Tel Aviv derby, what's making news this week
If you found yourself around the Shabbos table again arguing about a topic that expired by Tuesday with the release of the 2026 election polls, it's worth making sure it doesn't happen next week. The elections are behind us, the unknown lies ahead, and only Hashem knows with certainty what will be, we can only guess.
This weekly column appears every Sunday to put a finger on the week's noteworthy events in politics, the religious-Zionist sector, the world, culture and sport.
Politics
President Yitzchak Herzog is expected to receive the official election results this Wednesday and summon all party leaders for consultations, after which he will decide who receives the mandate to form the next government. In the religious-Zionist camp, no surprises are expected, but it will be interesting to see whom Avigdor Liberman recommends, himself or Gadi Eisenkot, and whether the larger chareidi party, United Torah Judaism, will agree to join a change coalition in exchange for a promise from the former chief of staff on legislation for a new draft law acceptable to all. All answers are currently uncertain, but the strongest assessment is that the next elections are very close.
The Religious-Zionist Sector
All the sector's youth movements, Bnei Akiva, Ezra and Ariel, have opened their traditional "organization month" in the customary state of frantic disorganization. Bnei Akiva this year is emphasizing Torah integrated with work in the spirit of the movement, but is dealing less with burning political issues for understandable reasons: most members are not yet of voting age. Alongside the opening of organization month, the "sector betting pool" has also begun on the name of the new shevet.
World News
Midterm elections in the United States will be held midweek, starting Monday night through the final results, likely Wednesday morning Israel time. The results matter most to one man: US President Donald Trump. However, because the president's decisions deal extensively with Israel, his authority to make lightning decisions and skip over small, unimportant obstacles in his view, such as Congress and the Senate, could be undermined or even halted if, after the elections, Trump discovers to his dismay that the American political reality has changed against him.
Culture
Television: "Eretz Nehederet" will recap the elections and present mock moves to form a "dream coalition" on Tuesday evening, and will no doubt also address President Trump's intention to strike Iran.
New film: If we haven't had enough of Iran in the news, a new action film called "Code Name: Tehran" starring Liam Neeson (who else?) hits theaters this week, and the trailer promises many things you've definitely never seen in a Liam Neeson film: blood, fire and pillars of smoke.
Sports
Football: Hapoel Tel Aviv, the fresh Toto Cup winner, will host Maccabi Haifa this Monday (November 2, 20:30) in a match that closes the ninth round of the Premier League.
Basketball: Maccabi Tel Aviv, which suffered another painful Euroleague defeat last week, will face Hapoel Tel Aviv tonight in the first seasonal Tel Aviv derby, and there's no doubt Maccabi needs a win, but Hapoel won't allow easy baskets.
These are the topics that will occupy the news this week, and that's it for this Sunday's column.