Once a bustling commercial center, Israel’s northernmost city was temporarily evacuated three years ago after being battered by rockets from nearby Lebanon, and it still feels half-empty even though the attacks have mostly subsided.
asserted
attacks → bustle → Lebanon
Although the town remains staunchly conservative, there are rumblings of displeasure with Netanyahu’s handling of the latest war against the militant group Hezbollah, and that could bode poorly for him in Israel’s election Tuesday.
uncertain
that → remain → election
Vowing to stop Hezbollah’s attacks, Netanyahu led a bombing campaign in Lebanon and invaded the country twice since 2023.
asserted
Netanyahu → vow → 2023
More than 4,000 Lebanese have been killed, and Israeli troops have occupied a swath of southern Lebanon, leveling multiple towns and displacing an estimated 1 million people.
asserted
troops → kill → people
Still, Hezbollah remains active.
asserted
Hezbollah → remain → ?
Some in Kiryat Shmona say Israel should have been even tougher; others say they no longer trust that Netanyahu cares about them.
asserted
Netanyahu → say → them
Eti Ben Shabat, 64, says in previous elections she had always followed her family in voting for Likud, almost without thinking.
asserted
she → say → Likud
But in recent years, she said, something snapped.
asserted
something → say → years
She pointed in part to Netanyahu’s broken promises to bring security to the north and dismantle Hezbollah.
asserted
She → point → Hezbollah
“I don’t want the lies to continue,” she said.
asserted
lies → want → ?
In previous elections, support went heavy for Netanyahu
Netanyahu is unlikely to lose Kiryat Shmona entirely.
asserted
Netanyahu → go → Shmona
But even a small dip in its support — and that of other traditional strongholds — could spell trouble for him.
uncertain
dip → spell → him
It could tip a very tight election to the man aiming to replace him, Gadi Eisenkot.
uncertain
It → tip → him
Or it could strengthen far-right parties, which would likely back Netanyahu to remain prime minister but would then have even greater power in a ruling coalition.
uncertain
which → strengthen → coalition
Kiryat Shmona has always supported right-wing parties, particularly Likud.
asserted
Shmona → support → parties
In the last elections held in 2021 and 2022, around 50% of voters there chose Likud, compared to a quarter of voters nationwide, according to the Central Elections Committee.
uncertain
% → hold → Committee
“Kiryat Shmona, the way the city is socioeconomically and religion-wise, it is made for the right and specifically Likud,” said Sami Malul, 72, a retired Likud city councilor who served as the town’s acting mayor in 2008.
asserted
who → make → 2008
But the town is reeling from the war.
asserted
town → reel → war
The government evacuated Kiryat Shmona and dozens of other towns and villages along the Lebanese border for more than a year – from the time Hezbollah began firing on Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel until a ceasefire with Hezbollah was reached in late 2024.
asserted
ceasefire → evacuate → 2024
Netanyahu claimed to have subdued Hezbollah.
asserted
Netanyahu → claim → Hezbollah
So trust in him shattered among some in Kiryat Shmona when Hezbollah missiles again started hitting in March after Israel and the U.S. launched their war on Iran.
asserted
Israel → shatter → Iran
Israel’s subsequent occupation of southern Lebanon has reduced but not stopped Hezbollah fire.
asserted
occupation → reduce → fire
Efforts by the Lebanese army to remove Hezbollah from southern Lebanon have made little progress.
asserted
Efforts → remove → progress
Kiryat Shmona claims that nearly 80% of its 22,000 residents have returned, but locals say the real figure is closer to 50%.
uncertain
figure → claim → residents
Streets feel empty and abandoned.
asserted
Streets → feel → ?
On the main commercial drags, several shops remain shuttered.
asserted
shops → remain → drags
Malul insists the government handled the war and the evacuation well, prioritizing residents’ safety.
asserted
government → insist → safety
He argued Kiryat Shmona has faced attacks since its founding and Netanyahu isn’t to blame for the current situation.
asserted
Netanyahu → argue → situation
Many others feel the same.
asserted
others → feel → ?
“We really love Bibi, and we can’t choose anyone else, but he should see the needs of his people,” said Maimon Amsalem, using Netanyahu’s nickname.
asserted
Amsalem → love → nickname
“Keeping our security is the most important thing, we don’t want anything else.”
asserted
we → keep → anything
For some, three years of war triggers a dramatic shift
Nissan Zeevi, a third-generation resident of northern Israel who lives in a town adjacent to Kiryat Shmona, has voted for Likud as long as he can remember.
asserted
he → trigger → Likud
But this year he is running for a seat in parliament with the Beyachad opposition party, furious over what he calls Netanyahu’s “abandonment of the north.”
asserted
he → run → north
During the most recent war with Hezbollah, Zeevi founded Lobby 1701, an activist group advocating for better security in the north.
asserted
Zeevi → found → north
He wants the Israeli military to increase its attacks against Hezbollah and maintain its buffer zone in southern Lebanon until the Lebanese government identifies Hezbollah as a terror organization.
asserted
government → want → organization
“Residents in the north have been in a war for three years that hasn’t ended,” said Zeevi.
asserted
Zeevi → end → years
“You can see the people’s great frustration and great disappointment in Netanyahu.”
asserted
You → see → Netanyahu
“Netanyahu still has his base here, who will go with him through fire and water.
asserted
who → have → fire
But people have much more political awareness now,” said Zeevi.
asserted
Zeevi → have → awareness
“After 20 years, he needs to make way for new leadership.”
asserted
he → need → leadership
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
