Close Read

Ben Greenberg
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Close Read reads political questions through two disciplines: a rabbi's training in interpreting contested texts and arguing in good faith, and a technologist's eye for incentives and second-order effects, from an American and Israeli vantage. Each show takes one question and reads the primary sources closely, quoting them in their own words with every source linked. The first show, Israel Elections 2026, goes through what every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election has published, one party per episode. By Ben Greenberg.

  1. Episode 1

    What is each party promising? Starting with B'Yachad

    On October 27, Israelis vote for the 26th Knesset. Thirty-eight lists filed to run. If you read English and not much Hebrew, finding out what any of them plans to do once in office is harder than it should be. This is the first episode of the series. It starts with how the series works: the source rules, the thirteen topics every party gets, and the order, which follows the Central Elections Committee's own list numbering. Then it goes straight into list number one. B'Yachad (ביחד), the joint list of Naftali Bennett's party and Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid, runs under the ballot letters רק. I couldn't find a single platform document. Its website has about twenty-five separate policy plans in Hebrew, most posted between June and September 2026, plus a 34-page education plan, and Yesh Atid keeps its own ten-point list. This episode walks through those plans on the same thirteen topics every party gets: security, October 7, the economy, housing, religion and state, the courts, education, health, welfare, Arab citizens, immigration, and the environment. Where I couldn't find a published position, I say so. This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/b-yachad/Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic1yyC7Mc1gClose Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

    What is each party promising? Starting with B'Yachad

  2. Episode 2

    Yashar: what they've published

    Gadi Eisenkot's party says its first government decision would be a state commission of inquiry into October 7, and it has already posted a draft of that decision for public comment. Yashar, the party led by Gadi Eisenkot, runs on the ballot letters דרך as a joint list with Hili Tropper's Yesodot Yisrael. It has published a short "10 steps" platform, a list of party goals, twelve detailed plans on its Hebrew website, and a draft government decision for a state commission of inquiry into October 7. This episode walks through what those documents say on security, October 7 accountability, the economy, housing, military service and religion and state, the courts and governance, education, health, seniors, Arab citizens, immigration, and transportation, and notes where I couldn't find a published position. This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/yashar/Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjw0GnIg3rAClose Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

    Yashar: what they've published

  3. Episode 3

    Sharshar: what they've published

    I couldn't find a written platform for Sharshar. But its leader, Eitan Shvili, has named a handful of priorities on camera, and those are what this episode covers. I couldn't find a written 2026 platform for Sharshar for Love and the Unity of the People (ballot letters צדק). Its leader, Eitan Shvili, named several priorities on camera at the election committee on September 6 and 7 and in a Channel 14 interview on September 9: people living with post-trauma and combat trauma and their families, the basket of life-saving medicines, bullying of children and teenagers, Holocaust survivors, equal opportunity for children, service for those who don't study, and uniting the people. He didn't say how he would carry out any of them. All of these were said in an interview, not written in a platform. On eight of the thirteen topics in this series I couldn't find a stated position. I didn't review social media accounts, because I couldn't confirm which ones speak for the list. This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Research cutoff: October 1, 2026. Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/sharshar/Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5gAeGHqjwClose Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

    Sharshar: what they've published

  4. Episode 4

    Partnership for Everyone: what they've published

    I couldn't find a platform for Partnership for Everyone. What I could verify is one interview its leader gave on the day the list was filed, and one answer in it is about home demolitions. Partnership for Everyone (השותפות לכולם, المشاركة للجميع), ballot letter ד, has no platform or website that I could find. This episode covers what its leader, Talal al-Qrinawi, said in a live interview with Hala TV and Panet at the election committee on September 7, 2026, including a remark on home demolitions, and walks the same thirteen topics as every episode. A regional news report of an Arabic announcement is mentioned but not counted, because I couldn't find the announcement itself. The list's leader is not the mayor of Rahat, who has the same name. This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Research cutoff: October 2, 2026. Interview quotes come from a machine transcript of the Arabic audio. Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/partnership-for-everyone/Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H-qsZVWxr4Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

    Partnership for Everyone: what they've published

  5. Episode 5

    The Pirate Party: what they've published

    The Pirate Party's website says it wants to get rid of the electoral threshold, the minimum share of the vote a party needs to enter the Knesset. The Pirate Party is running for the 26th Knesset under ballot letters צף, with a list headed by Ohad Shem Tov. It has not published a platform document for this election; its website carries a standing platform on an open wiki, a founding charter from 2012, and a question and answer page. This episode walks through what those pages say, topic by topic: the electoral threshold, internet voting and "liquid democracy," free internet, free education and health care, cannabis legalization, intellectual property, and the environment. It also lists the topics the party has not addressed. This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/pirate-party/Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roUUCr9s4c8Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

    The Pirate Party: what they've published

  6. Episode 6

    Amcha Yisrael: what they've published

    Ofer Winter's new party has a written platform that calls for a "voluntary emigration" plan for Gaza residents and says every Israeli citizen should do military or civil service, with housing and tax benefits tied to that service. Amcha Yisrael (עמך ישראל), led by Ofer Winter, has published one policy document: a Hebrew platform page on its website with eight sections, covering security doctrine and Gaza, universal military or civil service, the judiciary and organized crime, aliyah and diaspora relations, border regions, education, the economy and housing, and infrastructure and AI. This episode walks through that platform topic by topic in English, quoting the party's own wording, and notes where I couldn't find a published position, including on a state commission of inquiry into October 7, pensions, and a Palestinian state. This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/amcha-yisrael/Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSAAwi2U0_MClose Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

    Amcha Yisrael: what they've published

  7. Episode 7

    Israel First: what they've published

    Israel First's work plan says every citizen should serve, in the army or in a civil national service, and that anyone who refuses would lose state benefits and housing assistance. Israel First, led by Sharren Haskel and running jointly with Aleh Yarok under ballot letter י, has published a four-chapter "national work plan" on its website covering security, the economy, education, and civil liberty. Haskel's posts on X add a few more positions. This episode walks through the work plan topic by topic: a universal service law with sanctions, cancelling the Oslo Accords, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, cutting government ministries and the corporate tax, school vouchers, and cannabis legalization. It also lists the topics the party has not addressed. This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/israel-first/Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=367VZy7xCL8Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

    Israel First: what they've published

  8. Episode 8

    Garden of Eden: what they've published

    Garden of Eden proposes a National Jubilee program with debt relief and a basic income for citizens. The platform describes a gradual process, without a monthly payment figure or a blanket cancellation of all debt. This episode reads Garden of Eden's online platform, including its National Jubilee economic program, proposed basic income, public budget transparency, education proposals, and trauma-treatment plan. It separates concrete proposals from goals and records the implementation details and topic positions absent from the pages reviewed. This is part of a Close Read series for English speaking voters on the published policies of every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election. I only use what each party has made public. If a party didn't publish it, it isn't in the episode. Research cutoff: September 30, 2026. Unreviewed video speech and inaccessible social posts are outside this episode's source base. Transcript, chapters and every source: https://closeread.show/israel-2026/garden-of-eden/Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnAv8TkANm4Close Read is free and listener supported. Support it on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheCloseRead

    Garden of Eden: what they've published
See All Season 1 (43)

About

Close Read reads political questions through two disciplines: a rabbi's training in interpreting contested texts and arguing in good faith, and a technologist's eye for incentives and second-order effects, from an American and Israeli vantage. Each show takes one question and reads the primary sources closely, quoting them in their own words with every source linked. The first show, Israel Elections 2026, goes through what every party running in Israel's October 27, 2026 Knesset election has published, one party per episode. By Ben Greenberg.

Information

  • Creator
    Ben Greenberg
  • Episodes
    43
  • Seasons
    1
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ben Greenberg
  • Show Website
    Close Read

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