STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Israelis are casting their ballots this morning in an election that many see as critical to their country's future.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
This is the first time Israelis have had the chance to vote on their leaders since the Hamas attacks on October 7 three years ago and the wars that have followed in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, all conflicts that will be influenced by the outcome of this vote. Israel's far-right, longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, now faces a key challenger.
INSKEEP: NPR's Ruth Sherlock is in Tel Aviv, out and about on the streets. And, Ruth, where are you exactly? What are you seeing?
RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE: Hi, Steve. I'm at a polling station near Tel Aviv, and we're seeing that the sense is that this is a really vital election for Israelis. We're expecting a very high voter turnout, well over 70% of the voting-age population. And Israelis abroad are flying in to vote for what polls suggest is going to be a very close race. At this polling station, we're meeting people like Itamar Ariel (ph), who supports Netanyahu.
ITAMAR ARIEL: Bibi Netanyahu - the best.
(Speaking Hebrew).
SHERLOCK: He says, "yes, there are problems in Israel, but nobody can replace Netanyahu." He says, for him, this is about security for Israel. But here's the thing, Steve. In the country, there are many people here who believe that it's for the security failures that Netanyahu should be voted out. They want to see a full investigation into exactly how the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel could happen, something Netanyahu has blocked. Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image at the weekend of an atomic bomb exploding over Tel Aviv to remind Israelis of what he sees as the nuclear threat from Iran. One man at the polling station here said - he called that sick, saying that he thinks Netanyahu was trying to win votes by scaring Israelis.
INSKEEP: There's clearly a lot of Israelis who don't like the prime minister, yet he's won election after election after election. He finally was pushed out. He got his way back in. So what are the options for Israelis who don't support him?
SHERLOCK: His primary challenger is Gadi Eisenkot. He's a former military chief of staff who's actually been part of Netanyahu's war Cabinet. One of his sons and two of his nephews died in the war in Gaza. He now leads a center-right opposition. And that's promising more diplomacy, less extremism, an end to this Israeli - increasing isolation of Israel abroad. We spoke with Ido and Itai Ohev-Ami (ph), a young man and his grandfather. Itai was voting for the first time, and both support Eisenkot for change.
ITAI OHEV-AMI: (Speaking Hebrew).
IDO OHEV-AMI: (Speaking Hebrew).
SHERLOCK: "He's a straight man, an honest man." That's the grandfather.
ITAI OHEV-AMI: (Speaking Hebrew).
SHERLOCK: And his grandson says he wants less war and to address the costs-of-the-living crisis here. And, you know, the issues that many voters care about - I really want to underline this - are not necessarily the ones that people focus on abroad, like the destruction of Gaza. It's also here about domestic questions, like whether Orthodox Jews should serve in the military.
INSKEEP: Yeah. And I heard you mention cost of living, which is something that Americans are thinking about here in our election. So what's the timeline? When do we find out who won?
SHERLOCK: We should have a clearer picture by Wednesday morning who - which side has the most seats in Parliament. And we won't know - the vote count can continue for days. And we won't know who the prime minister is because that will be determined by the parties in days and possible weeks of negotiation.
(SOUNDBITE OF ENGINE CHUGGING)
INSKEEP: Listening to that helicopter go over. NPR's Ruth Sherlock at a polling station near Tel Aviv. Thanks so much.
SHERLOCK: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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