Who is Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main challenger in Israel’s elections?
Gadi Eisenkot emerges as a central figure in Israel’s contest to replace Netanyahu
Goldlaner.com – As Israel approaches its October 27 election, Gadi Eisenkot has become the opposition’s most consequential candidate and a prominent alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His appeal begins with a straightforward political reality: many voters seeking a change in leadership see him as a credible figure outside Netanyahu’s long-established governing circle.
Eisenkot, 66, brings an unusual combination of military stature, personal loss and relative political freshness to the campaign. He spent four decades in the Israel Defense Forces before entering electoral politics, and his rise has also renewed discussion about the place of Mizrahi Israelis in the country’s highest political office.
If he were to become prime minister, Eisenkot would be Israel’s first Mizrahi leader of government. He is the son of Moroccan immigrants and grew up in Tiberias and Eilat, away from the institutions and elite networks that have long shaped Israeli public life. That background differs sharply from Netanyahu’s upbringing in Jerusalem’s political establishment.
An ethnic dispute intensifies the campaign
Eisenkot’s heritage became a focus of national debate after Yinon Magal, a high-profile television host closely identified by many with Netanyahu’s political camp, made remarks about him that were widely condemned as racist. Magal described Eisenkot as a “monkey” and referred to his Mizrahi-Moroccan roots while claiming that Ashkenazi elites were directing him.
The comments touched on historic divisions between Jews of European descent and communities whose families came from the Middle East and North Africa. Magal later said he was not intending to ridicule Eisenkot’s origins, arguing that he had used a criminal-world expression for a public front controlled by others. Netanyahu also denounced the remarks.
Eisenkot has generally not made ethnicity a centerpiece of his public identity. Still, his personal story could matter in an election where Likud has traditionally drawn substantial support from Mizrahi voters. His path from the periphery to the top command of the military offers a contrast with the career trajectory of his principal rival.
From the Golani Brigade to the IDF’s highest post
The second of nine children and a father of five, Eisenkot enlisted in the Golani Brigade in 1978. Over the following decades, he advanced through the military hierarchy and served as the IDF chief of staff between 2015 and 2019, including during Netanyahu’s time as prime minister.
His tenure at the military’s helm included the 2016 case of Sgt. Elor Azaria, who shot and killed a wounded Palestinian attacker in Hebron. The incident became a defining political and military controversy. While right-wing politicians, Netanyahu among them, pressed for a different response, Eisenkot supported an investigation and prosecution. He framed that position as necessary to protect military discipline and ethical standards.
That episode helped establish Eisenkot’s image as a security figure willing to resist political pressure. It also underscored the challenge he now faces: translating respect for his military record into a broad electoral coalition capable of governing.
War, bereavement and a political break with Netanyahu
Eisenkot entered politics in 2022 with Benny Gantz, another former IDF chief of staff. Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, both men joined Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet. Their participation gave the wartime government wider backing across parts of the political spectrum.
They left that body in June 2024, citing the lack of a defined strategy for the period after the war. By then, Eisenkot’s family had suffered profound losses. His youngest son, Gal, 25, was killed while fighting in Gaza in December 2023, roughly two months after the war began. Two of Eisenkot’s nephews also died in combat.
In an April 2026 newspaper article, Eisenkot connected that loss directly to his public mission.
“Over Gal’s grave, I swore that the price he paid, he and his friends, those he knew and those he didn’t, would not be in vain,”
He has presented that pledge as a guiding commitment in his political life, linking the sacrifices of soldiers to his argument for a clearer national direction.
Strong polling, difficult coalition mathematics
A year ago, Eisenkot was polling in single digits. He now leads the opposition field, with recent surveys projecting that his Yashar party could win between 20 and 23 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. Those projections put the party ahead of Likud in several polls, while Eisenkot also performs better than Netanyahu in surveys asking voters who is best suited to serve as prime minister.
Yet finishing first in a parliamentary election does not automatically deliver the premiership. Israel’s president assigns the task of forming a government to the lawmaker considered most likely to assemble a majority. A party’s seat total is important, but the decisive question is whether it can secure the backing of at least 61 members of the Knesset.
That calculation remains uncertain. Polling suggests that neither Netanyahu’s bloc, which includes ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties, nor the anti-Netanyahu camp is clearly headed for a majority. The prospect of stalemate therefore looms over the vote.
Eisenkot would need support from parties spanning the center, left and right. In some possible outcomes, Arab parties could become essential to sustaining a government. Netanyahu has spent years portraying cooperation with Arab parties as illegitimate, and several other opposition leaders have already said they would not join such an arrangement.
Eisenkot has indicated that he would seek to form a government even without a 61-seat majority, potentially through a minority administration supported externally by Arab parties. Whether that approach can attract enough partners may determine not only his own future, but whether Israel can avoid another period of political paralysis.
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