450 Million Slips, One Verdict Pending
Israel has printed 450 million ballot slips for 7,331,981 eligible voters. That is about 60 slips per voter. Only one of them counts.
Voting for the 26th Knesset began at 7 a.m. at 12,018 polling stations. Thirty-six lists are competing for 120 seats.
Most stations close at 10 p.m., while stations in smaller communities, hospitals, prisons, and nursing homes close at 8 p.m.
Trains run free of charge on election day. Election monitors will carry some 15,000 cameras.
Tonight's exit polls will leave a large block of ballots unopened: an estimated 600,000–650,000 double-envelope ballots from soldiers and other voters casting ballots outside their assigned stations.
Officials must first check for duplicate voting, then separate the outer envelopes, which identify the voter, from the sealed ballots.
Those ballots equal roughly 15 Knesset seats. Election-night celebrations will begin before they are counted.
#IsraelElection #Knesset #Election2026
📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸
Israel has printed 450 million ballot slips for 7,331,981 eligible voters. That is about 60 slips per voter. Only one of them counts.
Voting for the 26th Knesset began at 7 a.m. at 12,018 polling stations. Thirty-six lists are competing for 120 seats.
Most stations close at 10 p.m., while stations in smaller communities, hospitals, prisons, and nursing homes close at 8 p.m.
Trains run free of charge on election day. Election monitors will carry some 15,000 cameras.
Tonight's exit polls will leave a large block of ballots unopened: an estimated 600,000–650,000 double-envelope ballots from soldiers and other voters casting ballots outside their assigned stations.
Officials must first check for duplicate voting, then separate the outer envelopes, which identify the voter, from the sealed ballots.
Those ballots equal roughly 15 Knesset seats. Election-night celebrations will begin before they are counted.
#IsraelElection #Knesset #Election2026
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🏛⚔️ Trump Fires at Obama Over White House Makeover, Turning Cheesecake Factory Into a Political Battleground
Trump is defending his lavish White House renovations after former President Obama mocked the gold-heavy decor, sparking a political clash that has turned an unlikely restaurant chain into a talking point ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump spent several minutes defending his renovation projects during a campaign stop in Mississippi on Monday, insisting that the historic residence had needed extensive repairs long before he returned to office.
His response followed Obama's remarks at a Democratic rally in Ohio, where the former president compared the White House's new look to a Cheesecake Factory opened by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Obama had questioned Trump's priorities, arguing that the president appeared more interested in home improvement than in addressing the economic pressures facing American families.
He pointed to the planned White House ballroom, changes to the Rose Garden, a new helicopter landing area and the extensive use of gold-colored decorations. Trump rejected the criticism, saying the building had suffered from neglected maintenance, damaged plaster, broken architectural features and missing decorative elements.
He argued that restoring the White House was a matter of national pride, not personal vanity, and insisted the work required only a small portion of his daily schedule.
The president also turned Obama's joke into a personal attack, arguing that mocking the renovations demonstrated a lack of understanding of the White House's symbolic importance.
Trump praised the work of the craftsmen involved and maintained that the building was now in better condition than it had been for decades.
The Cheesecake Factory quickly became an unexpected character in the political dispute. Republican allies accused Obama of looking down on ordinary Americans by using a popular restaurant chain as shorthand for excessive or tasteless design.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent even visited one of the chain's restaurants in Washington, publicly praised the meal and challenged the former president's perceived cultural elitism. But the backlash generated its own criticism.
Some commentators argued that defending the restaurant missed Obama's broader point: that Trump was devoting attention to decorative projects while voters remained concerned about prices, household budgets and the administration's policy priorities.
The dispute arrives at a politically sensitive moment. With control of Congress at stake in the November 3 midterms, Democrats are trying to frame the election as a referendum on Trump's leadership and his handling of the economy.
Republicans, meanwhile, are seeking to portray Obama's remarks as an example of Democratic condescension toward working-class voters.
The clash also reflects a more personal style of American politics, in which former presidents have increasingly become prominent voices in campaigns against their successors.
Obama's criticism followed a similar attack by former President Clinton, who mocked Trump's changes to the Rose Garden. For Trump, the renovations offer a chance to present himself as a builder restoring an important national landmark.
For his critics, the gold decorations and ambitious construction plans raise a different question: whether the president's attention is focused on the concerns that matter most to voters.
Ultimately, the argument is about more than interior design. It is a contest over image, priorities and political identity, unfolding just days before Americans head to the polls.
#Trump #Obama #WhiteHouse #MidtermElections
📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸
Trump is defending his lavish White House renovations after former President Obama mocked the gold-heavy decor, sparking a political clash that has turned an unlikely restaurant chain into a talking point ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump spent several minutes defending his renovation projects during a campaign stop in Mississippi on Monday, insisting that the historic residence had needed extensive repairs long before he returned to office.
His response followed Obama's remarks at a Democratic rally in Ohio, where the former president compared the White House's new look to a Cheesecake Factory opened by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Obama had questioned Trump's priorities, arguing that the president appeared more interested in home improvement than in addressing the economic pressures facing American families.
He pointed to the planned White House ballroom, changes to the Rose Garden, a new helicopter landing area and the extensive use of gold-colored decorations. Trump rejected the criticism, saying the building had suffered from neglected maintenance, damaged plaster, broken architectural features and missing decorative elements.
He argued that restoring the White House was a matter of national pride, not personal vanity, and insisted the work required only a small portion of his daily schedule.
The president also turned Obama's joke into a personal attack, arguing that mocking the renovations demonstrated a lack of understanding of the White House's symbolic importance.
Trump praised the work of the craftsmen involved and maintained that the building was now in better condition than it had been for decades.
The Cheesecake Factory quickly became an unexpected character in the political dispute. Republican allies accused Obama of looking down on ordinary Americans by using a popular restaurant chain as shorthand for excessive or tasteless design.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent even visited one of the chain's restaurants in Washington, publicly praised the meal and challenged the former president's perceived cultural elitism. But the backlash generated its own criticism.
Some commentators argued that defending the restaurant missed Obama's broader point: that Trump was devoting attention to decorative projects while voters remained concerned about prices, household budgets and the administration's policy priorities.
The dispute arrives at a politically sensitive moment. With control of Congress at stake in the November 3 midterms, Democrats are trying to frame the election as a referendum on Trump's leadership and his handling of the economy.
Republicans, meanwhile, are seeking to portray Obama's remarks as an example of Democratic condescension toward working-class voters.
The clash also reflects a more personal style of American politics, in which former presidents have increasingly become prominent voices in campaigns against their successors.
Obama's criticism followed a similar attack by former President Clinton, who mocked Trump's changes to the Rose Garden. For Trump, the renovations offer a chance to present himself as a builder restoring an important national landmark.
For his critics, the gold decorations and ambitious construction plans raise a different question: whether the president's attention is focused on the concerns that matter most to voters.
Ultimately, the argument is about more than interior design. It is a contest over image, priorities and political identity, unfolding just days before Americans head to the polls.
#Trump #Obama #WhiteHouse #MidtermElections
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God, Please Form a Coalition
Israel's election eve came with two requests: stop fighting each other and defeat the enemy. The first appeared in a newspaper column. The second went into the Western Wall.
Writing in The Jerusalem Post, Zvika Klein recalled Rabbi Moshe Yekutiel Alpert's diary from Israel's first parliamentary election in 1949. Alpert rose at 5:35 a.m., reached his polling station at 5:50, and became its first voter once the chairman arrived at 6:02.
Seventy-seven years later, Klein's appeal to today's politicians was less ceremonial: form a government, and indulge the mutual hatred on your own time.
Netanyahu visited the Western Wall on Monday evening, hours before the polls opened. His handwritten note asked for protection for soldiers, victory over enemies, and success for the Jewish people.
His office published the note, complete with a hand-drawn Israeli flag. A prayer between ancient stones also made a perfectly serviceable campaign image.
Netanyahu submitted his requests to a higher authority. Coalition negotiations will still require human signatures.
#IsraelElection #Netanyahu #PoliticalReligion
📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸
Israel's election eve came with two requests: stop fighting each other and defeat the enemy. The first appeared in a newspaper column. The second went into the Western Wall.
Writing in The Jerusalem Post, Zvika Klein recalled Rabbi Moshe Yekutiel Alpert's diary from Israel's first parliamentary election in 1949. Alpert rose at 5:35 a.m., reached his polling station at 5:50, and became its first voter once the chairman arrived at 6:02.
Seventy-seven years later, Klein's appeal to today's politicians was less ceremonial: form a government, and indulge the mutual hatred on your own time.
Netanyahu visited the Western Wall on Monday evening, hours before the polls opened. His handwritten note asked for protection for soldiers, victory over enemies, and success for the Jewish people.
His office published the note, complete with a hand-drawn Israeli flag. A prayer between ancient stones also made a perfectly serviceable campaign image.
Netanyahu submitted his requests to a higher authority. Coalition negotiations will still require human signatures.
#IsraelElection #Netanyahu #PoliticalReligion
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