Can political novice Eisenkot defeat Netanyahu in upcoming elections?

JERUSALEM — Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot has overtaken former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leading election rival, according to a Channel 12 poll published June 4 that shows Eisenkot surpassing both men for the first time as the candidate considered most suitable for the premiership.

The poll may explain the campaign videos Netanyahu launched this week on his social media accounts portraying Eisenkot as weak on Iran and aligned with Arab parties.

Going it alone

Eisenkot, 66, entered politics after a long military career. Enlisting in 1978, he served in both Lebanon wars (1986, 2006), both intifadas (1987, 2000) and numerous other operations. In 2015, he was appointed chief of staff of the Israeli military, serving until 2019. Three years later, he joined Benny Gantz’s National Unity party and was elected to the Knesset on its list. Five days after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel, the party joined Netanyahu’s government to assist the country in wartime.

A year ago, in June 2025, Eisenkot informed Gantz of his decision to leave the party to strike out on his own. He considered Gantz too conciliatory toward Netanyahu, whose governments Gantz had twice joined in the past, and believed it was time to replace Israel’s longest-serving leader.

Gantz — who had preceded Eisenkot as Israel’s top military commander and then recruited him into politics after his retirement from the military — felt betrayed. Eisenkot stood his ground, however, giving up his National Unity Knesset seat but remaining a key figure in the opposition.

At the time, few saw Eisenkot as a serious contender to replace Netanyahu, assuming he would eventually join larger opposition forces. Even after founding his own political party, Yashar (Straight, in Hebrew), last September, he was still considered a lightweight compared with Bennett, then viewed as the front-runner in the effort to unseat Netanyahu.

When Bennett, leader of the Bennett 2026 party, joined forces with opposition and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid in April to establish a new party, Together, they urged Eisenkot to join them. Political observers believed the unassuming former general lacked the ambition to become prime minister and would eventually yield to pressure, and Bennett and Lapid did not expect him to refuse and certainly did not anticipate his rise at their expense.

As support for the Together alliance gradually declined, Eisenkot’s numbers rose week after week this spring, eventually overtaking both Bennett and Lapid this month. Recent polls position Yashar as the largest party in the opposition bloc.

According to a June 16 poll commissioned by the public broadcaster Kan, if elections were held now, Eisenkot would win 21 of 120 Knesset seats, four more than two weeks earlier. Meanwhile, Bennett and Lapid’s party lost six seats, dropping to 17. The same poll showed Netanyahu’s Likud continuing to lose support, falling to 23 seats from the 32 it currently holds. In other words, only two seats separate Eisenkot from Netanyahu, whose standing has been battered by the emerging US-Iran agreement, which many Israelis view negatively.

All eyes on Eisenkot

With elections still four months away — scheduled for Oct. 20 or Oct. 27 at the latest — Eisenkot is emerging as the campaign’s central figure. Bennett leads Together because he polls stronger than Lapid against Netanyahu, but his chances of regaining momentum and overtaking Eisenkot appear to be fading. In fact, Eisenkot is widely expected to continue gaining ground and to potentially surpass Netanyahu to become the leader of Israel’s largest party.

Voters in the opposition bloc want more than anything else to remove Netanyahu after two decades of cumulative rule. If Eisenkot increasingly appears to be the strongest challenger, voters may abandon Bennett in his favor.

According to in-depth polling commissioned by different parties, Eisenkot is also attracting moderate Likud voters who have grown weary of Netanyahu and the influence of the hard-liner, populist politicians dominating the headlines, in particular National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Reflecting real concern over Eisenkot's rise, Netanyahu and Likud have begun targeting him directly, portraying him as a weak general lacking political and diplomatic experience compared with the polished, US-educated Netanyahu. Yet these very qualities appear to be working in Eisenkot’s favor, particularly his credibility in contrast to Netanyahu’s reputation as a consummate political operator.

Eisenkot’s growing appeal has its roots in the Oct. 7 attack, the darkest day in Israel’s history. Alongside Gantz, he ignored appeals from friends and supporters who urged him not to join Netanyahu’s government and avoid giving the prime minister a political lifeline. Eisenkot said it was his duty as a former soldier to help defend the country.

That same morning, he drove his 25-year-old son Gal to report to his military base, having been called up for reserve duty along with tens of thousands of other Israelis. Three months later, on Dec. 7, Gal was killed fighting Hamas in Gaza. The country mourned with the Eisenkot family, with many observers noting its sacrifice in contrast to the Netanyahu family, whose son Yair was living in Florida.

Broad appeal

Still, Eisenkot’s personal tragedy alone does not explain the rise of a relatively understated figure in an age dominated by social media, branding and political spectacle.

Part of the explanation lies in the transformation of Israeli society since Oct. 7. Eisenkot is the complete opposite of the leader who governed the country before and after the devastating attack. Traits once viewed as weaknesses have become strengths.

Netanyahu’s experience, polish and American-accented English did not prevent what many Israelis consider a flawed agreement with Iran — an agreement Eisenkot has sharply criticized.

Eisenkot’s background also works in his favor. He is the son of a Moroccan Jewish family rather than a member of the traditional Ashkenazi elite, from which Netanyahu emerged. His military career propelled him to the highest rank in the army, but unlike many opposition leaders, who maintain upscale residences, he continues to live in a modest apartment building in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.

Eisenkot remains mild-mannered even when delivering harsh criticism, earning respect from political opponents. He also stands in stark contrast to Netanyahu’s hard-line coalition partners, particularly those in the ultra-Orthodox parties, which have pushed for legislation exempting their followers from military service.

Not only did Eisenkot lose his son in the war; two of his nephews were also killed in Gaza. He has come to symbolize a hardworking, liberal patriot. Long before Oct. 7, he opposed Netanyahu’s efforts to weaken Israel’s judiciary. Despite Eisenkot’s military background, left-leaning voters view him favorably because of his expressed support for reaching an accommodation with the Palestinians, unlike Bennett, who is pro-settlement and opposes a two-state solution.

Barring dramatic, unforeseen developments, Eisenkot and Netanyahu appear headed toward one of the most consequential elections in Israel’s history. The outcome remains uncertain. Netanyahu still commands substantial support and leads a cohesive political bloc.

Eisenkot served as military chief of staff under Netanyahu for four years, and the two maintained a productive working relationship. In that position, Eisenkot never challenged Netanyahu’s authority. Now he must prove that he possesses the political toughness required to defeat a leader who has built a career on defying the odds.