Eisenkot's Yashar Edges Past Netanyahu's Likud in Israeli Polls — SkimNews
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- Yashar party projected to win at least 20 of 120 Knesset seats in Israel's October 27 election, with Channel 12 (23), Channel 13 (22), and Maariv (25) placing it ahead of Netanyahu's Likud at 20, 19, and 19 seats respectively.
- Gadi Eisenkot, a 66-year-old former IDF Chief of Staff who served 41 years and lost a son and two nephews in the war, joined Netanyahu's war cabinet four days after October 7, 2023, served until June 2024, and now polls as popular as Netanyahu after launching his first electoral meeting on June 30.
- Yashar's 10-point platform focuses on strengthening the IDF, mandatory national or civilian service, preserving Israel's Jewish and democratic character, reducing social gaps, and tackling the high cost of living; Eisenkot nonetheless shares Netanyahu's positions on the two-state solution and Iran.
- Eisenkot authored the 'Dahiyeh Doctrine,' which calls for disproportionate force and deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and previously drew international condemnation against Israel, and he still lags Netanyahu in international media appeal, per Mitvim Institute policy fellow Dahlia Scheindlin.
- Scheindlin said Yashar's voter base is centrist-leaning right and security-minded, shifting from Gantz in 2023-24 to Bennett in 2025 to Eisenkot now, and warned that coalition math and Eisenkot's inexperience pose obstacles to coalition-building.
Why it matters: Yashar's poll lead gives Netanyahu his first serious electoral challenger in years, but Eisenkot's near-identical positions on Gaza, the West Bank, and Iran mean a Yashar victory would likely change who sits in the prime minister's office more than how Israel fights — a political turnover without a strategic one.
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