{"id":516907,"date":"2026-06-29T17:20:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T17:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/516907\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T17:20:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T17:20:18","slug":"the-former-military-chief-now-challenging-netanyahu-for-israels-top-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/516907\/","title":{"rendered":"The former military chief now challenging Netanyahu for Israel\u2019s top job"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tel Aviv\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\n On the evening of June 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>\u2019s Likud party posted four words on its official X account.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere is no Gadi without Tibi.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Accompanying the short message was an AI-generated, 11-second clip showing two politicians \u2013 Gadi Eisenkot and Ahmad Tibi \u2013 standing together before a parliament covered in dark clouds.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cEisenkot does not have a government without the Arabs,\u201d the text at the end said, referencing Tibi, a prominent Arab lawmaker.\n <\/p>\n

\n The post underscored two fundamental elements of the party\u2019s campaign ahead of parliamentary elections slated for late October. First, that Netanyahu will once again rely on the anti-Arab rhetoric that his party has employed for years. And second, that Israel\u2019s former military chief Eisenkot is now seen as the main political threat to the country\u2019s longest-serving leader.\n <\/p>\n

\n Eisenkot\u2019s name may not yet resonate internationally, but in Israel, it has grown increasingly prominent, supplanting that of former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as the main challenger to Netanyahu. An adviser to Netanyahu said they have 400 more videos about Eisenkot to release.\n <\/p>\n

\n Eisenkot\u2019s Yashar party, \u201cstraight\u201d or \u201chonest\u201d in Hebrew and founded less than a year ago, had been languishing in the single digits in most polls until recently. Now, most surveys show it running close to Likud and ahead of the joint list formed by Bennett and another former prime minister, Yair Lapid.\n <\/p>\n

\n The two had sought to fold Eisenkot into a unified anti-Netanyahu bloc. But he declined, opting to run independently instead, and has now surpassed them in multiple polls.\n <\/p>\n

\n The latest Channel 12 poll projects that Eisenkot\u2019s party would take 21 seats in Israel\u2019s parliament, the Knesset, just behind Likud\u2019s 23 and ahead of Bennett-Lapid\u2019s 18. Asked who was better suited to serve as prime minister, 38% of respondents named Eisenkot; 36% said Netanyahu. Other major pollsters show a similar trend.\n <\/p>\n

\n The shift is reflected in Likud\u2019s messaging, which has begun treating Eisenkot as Netanyahu\u2019s primary rival after previously focusing on Bennett.\n <\/p>\n

\"Israel's<\/p>\n

\n In recent weeks, campaign videos mocking Eisenkot\u2019s heavily accented English started circulating, contrasting it with the polished international delivery of Netanyahu, who graduated from high school in Pennsylvania. \u201cGadi wouldn\u2019t strike Iran,\u201d was another emerging line of attack.\n <\/p>\n

\n Yet that contrast may also be part of Eisenkot\u2019s appeal, analysts say. In style and public persona, he is Netanyahu\u2019s polar opposite, more than any rival in years.\n <\/p>\n

\n Netanyahu, 76, has spent decades mastering political theater, sharp messaging and grand performances. Eisenkot is soft spoken, understated and undramatic \u2013 not the stuff of viral memes \u2013 a former military planner focused on process and strategy.\n <\/p>\n

\n Their biographies reinforce the differences. Netanyahu, the son of a historian, grew up in Jerusalem\u2019s elite circles and served in the military\u2019s prestigious Sayeret Matkal commando unit. Eisenkot, 66, is the second of nine children born to Moroccan immigrants. He was raised in Tiberias and Eilat, outside Israel\u2019s traditional centers of power and influence. As a soldier, he rose through the Golani Brigade to become the Israel Defense Forces\u2019 (IDF) chief of staff from 2015 to 2019, picked by Netanyahu.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cUnder your command, Gadi, the IDF carried out great work,\u201d Netanyahu said in Eisenkot\u2019s 2019 retiring ceremony. \u201cWe salute you, for your many merits as fighter and commander,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n His tenure saw both political pressure and controversy. In 2016, Eisenkot presided over the prosecution of Elor Azaria, a combat medic convicted of killing a wounded Palestinian attacker in Hebron, a case that became a political flashpoint <\/a>over military ethics and rules of engagement. He supported the military\u2019s legal process despite significant right-wing pressure, including Netanyahu himself.\n <\/p>\n

\n Eisenkot entered politics in 2022 under the leadership of another former military chief, Benny Gantz. Together, they joined Netanyahu\u2019s emergency war cabinet after October 7. Over time, Eisenkot grew increasingly critical of the government\u2019s conduct during the war and the absence of a clear strategy, particularly regarding the hostages held in Gaza.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe war is being conducted through tactical gains, without significant moves to achieve strategic objectives,\u201d he wrote in a February 2024 letter to Netanyahu and the war cabinet.\n <\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

\n The war also reshaped his personal story. Two months into the fighting, his youngest son, Gal, was killed in Gaza. Two of his nephews were later killed in combat. All while Netanyahu\u2019s own son, Yair, spent a significant portion of the war in Miami, and did not serve in reserve duty.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe will continue to be a united and happy family so that your sacrifice will not be in vain,\u201d Eisenkot said at the funeral of his son. \u201cWe will do everything to be worthy \u2013 and make the right decisions for those who sacrificed, your brothers in arms, and for the entire Israeli people.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n By June 2024, Eisenkot and Gantz withdrew from the emergency war cabinet, citing the absence of an endgame. A year later, Eisenkot split from Gantz to form his own party, which has steadily gained momentum.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe comes across to people as someone they want to hug,\u201d columnist Nachum Barnea wrote in Yedioth Aharonot this week, describing Eisenkot\u2019s appeal as \u201cemotional,\u201d and tracing it to the combination of him being a former chief of staff, a bereaved father, and a Moroccan son from the periphery.\n <\/p>\n

\n His background may carry political significance. Mizrahi voters \u2013 Jews of Middle Eastern and North African descent \u2013 are traditionally a core Likud constituency, but Israel has never had a Mizrahi prime minister. Even Likud lawmaker David Bitan recently acknowledged in an interview that Eisenkot\u2019s background and personal story \u201cgive him a very interesting advantage.\u201d Yigal Guetta, a former lawmaker from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, said it bluntly on Israel\u2019s Channel 12 News. \u201cYes, a Moroccan prime minister!\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Still, with some four months until the election, polling shows Eisenkot is far from securing a decisive victory or having an easy path to a governing coalition. Netanyahu is a seasoned and skillful campaigner with a well-established political apparatus. Eisenkot has never run a national race on his own.\n <\/p>\n

\n Netanyahu\u2019s allies have already escalated their attacks. On pro-Netanyahu Channel 14, panelists have accused Eisenkot of past leniency toward Hezbollah figures \u2013 claims he rejects and over which he has said he is weighing legal action.\n <\/p>\n

\n Likud messaging has also returned to a familiar argument aimed at right-leaning voters: that any anti-Netanyahu coalition would depend on the support of Arab parties. Instead of directing that attack at Bennett or Lapid, it\u2019s now aimed at Eisenkot.\n <\/p>\n

\"Gadi<\/p>\n

\n Coalition arithmetic remains the central challenge, not just for Eisenkot but for the entire anti-Netanyahu bloc. Even if polls point to a majority, a potential coalition spanning left, right, center and Arab parties would face real difficulty forming a government \u2013 and keeping it together.\n <\/p>\n

\n Nonetheless, Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent for The Economist and the author of one of Netanyahu\u2019s biographies, says that Eisenkot stands out from previous challengers.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere is an ongoing Israeli audition since 1996 seeking for the person who will bring down Netanyahu,\u201d he said. \u201cThose who succeeded, like Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon, did so by being fundamentally different. Those who failed often tried to imitate him.\u201d It\u2019s a pattern Pfeffer characterized as \u201cWannaBibis.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Eisenkot, in his view, is not following that script. \u201cThere is only one Netanyahu. Eisenkot is the first in years who is trying to beat Netanyahu by being his opposite,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Pfeffer questions how far that difference extends, noting that Eisenkot was a central figure in shaping Israel\u2019s military strategy, including the \u201cDahiyeh doctrine\u201d of using overwhelming force<\/a> against civilian infrastructure to deter future militant attacks, developed after the 2006 Lebanon war, and the strategic planning at the outset of the Gaza war. \u201cPersonality-wise, he is different,\u201d Pfeffer said, \u201cbut in terms of policy, it\u2019s less clear.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Netanyahu has seen multiple challengers rise on waves of public hope and support, only to fall short against his political skills. For now, the contrast with Netanyahu appears to be driving Eisenkot\u2019s momentum.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cEisenkot is not Netanyahu and can never be. But that may be precisely what many Israelis are looking for: a fundamentally different style of leadership,\u201d Pfeffer said.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tel Aviv\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 On the evening of June 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party posted four words…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516908,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-516907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}