Eisenkot Challenges Netanyahu in Israel's 120-Seat Election

Gadi Eisenkot and Benjamin Netanyahu face off in Israel’s national election on Tuesday. The contest pits the former military chief of staff against the country's long-serving prime minister. Polls indicate the two camps are running neck and neck. This vote determines which side controls the 120 seats in the Knesset.

Eisenkot leads the opposition bloc. He entered politics four years ago after serving as head of the Israel Defense Forces. His party, Yashar, translates to straight or direct. He advocates for term limits on prime ministers, arguing that power corrupts. At a recent rally in Modi'in, a city between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, supporters praised his plain speaking style. One attendee, Noa Sadeh, said she is tired of people who know how to talk and wants someone who does the work.

The opposition group includes former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman. Both men are from the nationalist right and previously worked with Netanyahu before falling out. On the far right, Yishai Fleisher of the Otzma Yehudit party argued that Netanyahu drifts left. He called for more settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Fleisher also proposed a ministry to encourage the voluntary departure of Palestinians and the death penalty.

Netanyahu has defined the terms of the campaign. His posters present a choice between Yamin, meaning right, and Falastin. The campaign places opposition leaders next to the heads of parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel. These citizens make up about a fifth of the population. The central question for the anti-Netanyahu Jewish parties is whether they will rely on mainly Arab parties to form a government. Pro-Netanyahu media, specifically Channel 14, have kept his opponents on the defensive.

Tensions rose this week when Yinon Magal, a presenter on Channel 14, called Eisenkot a Moroccan monkey. Speakers at the rally in Modi'in mentioned the slur, but Eisenkot did not. Admirers viewed his silence as restraint. Doubters saw a politician who does not understand his opponent.

The close polling puzzles many observers. The deadliest attack in Israel's history occurred on October 7, 2023, during Netanyahu's tenure. His war in Gaza killed more than 70,000 Palestinians. Israel says a third of those were Hamas combatants. The war did not eradicate Hamas, and Israel's international standing has suffered. Iran's nuclear threat was not destroyed as promised. Netanyahu also faces fallout from his attempt to curb the supreme court and an ongoing corruption trial.

Oded Levi, who voted for Netanyahu in 2022 but attended the Eisenkot rally, said whoever was prime minister then is responsible. Netanyahu's durability rests on a loyal base built over three decades. This base has not been shaken by reports that he received credible warnings of the October 7 attack and failed to act. His allies promote an account that army and intelligence chiefs kept him in the dark, a claim that is unfounded.

Netanyahu is seen as a gifted coalition builder. Many expect him to outmaneuver rivals in the talks that follow the vote. Opposition hopes rest partly on energy abroad. Many liberal, secular expatriate Israelis are flying home to vote. Pollsters do not capture this group, but it could matter if the result turns on a single seat. On Thursday, a state ceremony marked the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Netanyahu stayed away and sent a low-ranking minister.

Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats and a former general, said he is optimistic. He hopes opposition leaders can agree on a regional strategic process for long-term security. He avoided the words peace process. The word peace has been tainted for many Israelis, but it has not vanished. A video shared widely this week showed scores of young Israelis at a Negev music festival singing Shir LaShalom, the song Rabin sang before he was shot 31 years ago. For some Israelis, that and the full flights home suggest the age of Netanyahu may be nearing its end.