Video taking off 155x its usual first day

Netanyahu lost his majority, not his options, Kaufman argues

Wall Street Journal Opinion's widely watched Short lays out three routes through Israel's election deadlock.

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Wall Street Journal Opinion Story of October 30, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 318,859 views a day, 155 times a normal first day on this channel (2,054).

Netanyahu Gives Israel One More Surprise

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost and won." Elliot Kaufman opens with that apparent contradiction, then explains the distinction: Netanyahu lost his governing majority, but performed better than expected against the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot.

The Wall Street Journal Opinion Short, titled "Netanyahu Gives Israel One More Surprise," reached about a quarter-million views within 15 hours. That is far beyond the channel's usual opening for a Short, which ordinarily draws only a few thousand views on its first day.

Kaufman, a Journal editorial board member, offers an argument about Netanyahu's political resilience, not an announcement that he has secured another government. He identifies three possible paths: Netanyahu persuades an opposition party to join him, the opposition assembles a coalition with all the Arab-majority parties, or the sides form a unity government.

Kaufman says President Donald Trump has urged the unity option. Without a workable arrangement, he sees another election as the likely outcome.

His sharpest criticism is reserved for the opposition's campaign. Kaufman argues that it repeated familiar tactics without responding to an electorate that wants change but has also shifted rightward. That, rather than a restored majority, is the surprise he finds in Netanyahu's result.

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