Gadi Eisenkot emerges as Netanyahu's main rival ahead of Israeli elections

Israel's Likud party posted an AI‑generated video on June 8 showing former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot together with Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi, underscoring two campaign themes: renewed anti‑Arab rhetoric by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Eisenkot’s rise as the prime ministerial challenger. Eisenkot’s newly formed Yashar party, founded less than a year ago, has surged in polls, now projected to win about 21 Knesset seats, trailing Likud’s 23 and ahead of the Bennett‑Lapid joint list’s 18. A Channel 12 poll found 38 % of respondents view Eisenkot as the better candidate for prime minister versus 36 % for Netanyahu. Campaign videos have mocked Eisenkot’s heavily accented English, contrasting it with Netanyahu’s polished international delivery. Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (2015‑2019) and son of Moroccan immigrants, is portrayed as Netanyahu’s polar opposite – soft‑spoken, understated and focused on military strategy, while Netanyahu relies on dramatic political theatre.