Israel election: Netanyahu vs Eisenkot in tight race — SkimNews
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- Benjamin Netanyahu campaigns on a 'No Surrender' platform, asserting his leadership has reduced existential threats through military actions in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran since the 7 October 2023 attacks.
- Gadi Eisenkot and his centrist Yashar party have matched or surpassed Netanyahu’s Likud in recent polls, drawing support with a calm, non-politician image and promises to restore judicial independence and enforce military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews.
- First-time voters, including over 16% of young voters surveyed, show strong leanings toward far-right parties like Itamar Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism, citing the 7 October attacks as proof that peaceful solutions have failed.
- Opposition supporters gathered in Tel Aviv to demand change, framing the election as existential for Israel’s democratic identity, with many citing Netanyahu’s refusal to allow a state commission of inquiry into the 7 October failures.
- Lt Col (Res) Eyal Hajbi, a former Likud voter from Sderot, says the 7 October attacks drove him and his family to support far-right leader Itamar Ben Gvir, reflecting a broader shift among some right-wing Israelis toward more extreme positions.
- Gal Pauker and Galia, survivors of the Nir Oz kibbutz attack, say their focus has shifted from security to humanity and governance, with both considering voting for Eisenkot despite their son’s uncertainty about his security stance.
Why it matters: Over 70% of Jewish Israelis support a state inquiry into the 7 October failures, a promise Eisenkot champions, while Netanyahu’s base fractures between centrist defectors and voters moving further right—reshaping coalition math in a race where half a million first-time voters and 70,000 returning expatriates could decide the outcome.
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