As Israel heads into a fiercely contested general election on October 27, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the principal challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Eisenkot's rise comes at a pivotal moment in Israeli politics, with the election widely viewed as a referendum on the long-serving premier's leadership in the violent aftermath of Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
A recent Channel 12 poll put Eisenkot's new party, Yashar (Hebrew for "Straight" or "Upright"), ahead of Netanyahu's Likud, projecting 23 seats to Likud's 22 in the 120-member Knesset.
The same survey found that 43 percent of respondents considered Eisenkot, 66, the most suitable candidate for prime minister, compared with 34 percent for Netanyahu.
Eisenkot -- who has dismissed calls for a future Palestinian state as irrelevant after the October 7 attacks and pioneered Israel's strategy of disproportionate military responses in Lebanon -- has built his campaign around a 10-point platform that he says will restore Israel's security, unity and democratic institutions.
Chief of staff of the Israeli military between 2015 and 2019, Eisenkot was among those credited with developing the "Dahiya Doctrine", named after a Beirut suburb that is a Hezbollah stronghold.
Advanced on the premise that Hezbollah conceals fighters and weapons among civilian homes and infrastructure, the doctrine calls for a devastating Israeli response against enemy population centres when Israeli communities come under long-range attack.
At the top of his civilian manifesto is a pledge to establish a state commission of inquiry into Hamas's bloody 2023 cross-border attack, which triggered the Gaza war and quickly expanded into a broader regional conflict, and which led to Netanyahu's government being accused of overseeing an intelligence failure.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have repeatedly demonstrated in support of such an inquiry, but Netanyahu's coalition has instead proposed a commission whose members would be chosen by politicians.
Eisenkot also promises a "new long-term national security doctrine" aimed at strengthening the military and reinforcing Israel's borders.
A central plank of this is a "universal national service law" that would extend compulsory service to ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab citizens.
He has also pledged to "protect judicial independence, the rule of law, minority rights and a free press."
"Through these steps, we will ensure that Israel is a Jewish, democratic, powerful, advanced and secure state," Eisenkot's campaign says.
His overall position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however, remains less clearly defined.
"The only signal that he sent was that Israel should be a state of law," said Tal Elovits, a researcher at Israeli think tank Molad. "Therefore, illegal settlements and settlers' violence will be dealt with."
Relatively new to politics, Eisenkot has attracted widespread public sympathy after his son, Gal, and two nephews were killed fighting in Gaza.
Eisenkot's call for universal military service has become a defining issue of his campaign, putting him at the forefront of opposition to Netanyahu's alliance with ultra-Orthodox parties.
Eisenkot has repeatedly attacked Netanyahu's agreement with his coalition partners to advance legislation exempting many Haredi men from military service.
"This is a government that chooses to weaken the army in the midst of a brutal war, while the finest sons and daughters of this nation are deployed across all fronts," he wrote, in a social media post.
- 'Different generation' -
Unlike Netanyahu, who comes from one of Israel's elite families, Eisenkot is the son of Moroccan immigrants and grew up on the country's geographic periphery.
"In a political universe full of Netanyahu wannabes ... Eisenkot reads as a man of a different generation, far more connected to the traditional security narratives of Zionism," columnist Nadav Eyal wrote in a recent blog.
Eisenkot's understated style could prove to be one of his strongest political assets, said Elovits.
"The middle class and upper middle class... look for someone that will look responsible, boring, and I think that Eisenkot has that appeal," he said.
Although opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett remain in contention, current polling suggests neither is as well positioned as Eisenkot to defeat Netanyahu.
Lapid and Bennett governed together between 2021 and 2022 in a coalition that included an Arab party.
- Strategic option -
According to Elovits, many disillusioned right-wing voters still see that alliance as a "betrayal", making them unlikely to return to Bennett.
"Many voters of the right wing who do not like what Netanyahu is doing... are looking for a home. And a reasonable house for them today is Gadi Eisenkot," said Gayil Talshir, a political science professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
For liberal centrist voters, Eisenkot increasingly represents the opposition candidate with the strongest chance of unseating Netanyahu.
"Once Eisenkot began to rise above Bennett in the polls, the strategic voters of the liberal camp went with Eisenkot," Talshir said.
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Facts Only
* Gadi Eisenkot is the former military chief.
* The general election is scheduled for October 27.
* A Channel 12 poll showed Eisenkot's party, Yashar, projected more seats than Netanyahu's Likud (23 to 22) in the 120-member Knesset.
* In a survey, 43% of respondents considered Eisenkot the most suitable prime minister candidate, compared to 34% for Netanyahu.
* Eisenkot built his campaign around a 10-point platform to restore security, unity, and democratic institutions.
* He has pledged to establish a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas attack.
* He promises a new long-term national security doctrine and a universal national service law extending compulsory service to ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab citizens.
* Eisenkot previously developed the "Dahiya Doctrine."
* Tens of thousands of Israelis supported an inquiry into the 2023 cross-border attack, but Netanyahu's coalition proposed a different commission structure.
* Eisenkot has criticized Netanyahu's agreement with coalition partners regarding military service exemptions for Haredi men.
Executive Summary
Former army chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming Israeli general election on October 27. This contest is framed around the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attacks, with the election viewed as a referendum on Netanyahu's leadership. A recent Channel 12 poll indicated that Eisenkot's party, Yashar, projected ahead of Likud in seat count (23 to 22) and had more respondents view him as the most suitable prime ministerial candidate (43% versus 34% for Netanyahu).
Eisenkot's platform centers on a 10-point agenda focused on restoring security, unity, and democratic institutions. Key proposals include establishing an inquiry into the Hamas attack, implementing a new long-term national security doctrine, and introducing a universal national service law that would apply to ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab citizens. He also pledges to protect judicial independence, minority rights, and a free press.
Eisenkot has a background involving the development of the "Dahiya Doctrine" and has been vocal in criticizing Netanyahu's coalition partners regarding military service exemptions. While his stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is less defined, he has gained public sympathy following the deaths of his family members in Gaza. Polling suggests Eisenkot holds the strongest position to unseat Netanyahu, particularly among strategic right-wing and liberal centrist voters who may view the current coalition alliance as a betrayal.
Full Take
The narrative positions Eisenkot as an alternative rooted in traditional security narratives and a perceived shift in the political landscape, drawing support from voters disillusioned with the status quo alliance. The appeal appears to operate on two distinct psychological registers: one appealing to right-wing voters seeking a perceived "home" outside of the current government structure, and another appealing to liberal centrist voters seeking a responsible, less polarizing figure. This suggests the contest is less about specific policy alignment and more about delegitimizing the existing governing consensus.
The concept of Eisenkot representing a "different generation" connected to traditional Zionism contrasts with Netanyahu's background, suggesting an appeal to historical continuity amidst contemporary conflict. The emphasis on universal service laws and addressing the status of Arab citizens suggests a deeper structural tension beneath the surface of immediate security concerns. The pattern here is the mobilization of latent dissatisfaction by framing a specific political actor as embodying a more authentic or historically grounded form of leadership.
The ambiguity surrounding Eisenkot’s defined stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, contrasted with his focus on internal state structure and security doctrines, functions as a strategic opening. This allows him to absorb support from diverse voter blocs who are dissatisfied with the existing political architecture rather than requiring explicit alignment on a single, highly contested outcome, thereby maximizing his appeal across the center-right and liberal spectrum simultaneously. The core implication is that the contest is less about policy negotiation and more about which framework—the established coalition or an alternative security/structural vision—will define the future of Israeli governance.
Bridge Questions: What are the underlying structural grievances motivating voters who favor a shift in national security doctrine over immediate political concessions? How does the framing of Eisenkot as a "different generation" interact with internal divisions within the Israeli right and center regarding traditional versus modern Zionist narratives? If the focus is on restoring institutional stability, how will disparate coalition partners reconcile their diverging visions for the future military and civil governance?
Sentinel — Human
This text reads as a grounded political analysis that synthesizes public polling with specific historical and ideological claims, exhibiting a high degree of human analytical synthesis.