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Gadi Eisenkot is a former IDF leader who rarely wears a suit, avoids political grandstanding, and says little about himself. And he’s leading in polls against Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, writes Neria Kraus. It was December 7, 2023, the first day of Hanukkah. Israel was in the midst of its war in Gaza, and Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and a minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, was visiting a military base in southern Israel. When Eisenkot entered the command center, he noticed a screen displaying the locations of Israeli troops in Gaza, and recognized the position of the division in which his son, Gal, was serving. Just a few hours later, during that same visit, he would receive an update: A serious incident had occurred, and Israeli forces had suffered casualties. Less than an hour later, a senior commander entered the room and delivered the devastating news: Gal was among them. Gal, 25, was a soldier in Maglan, an elite Israeli commando unit. He had been gravely wounded by a Hamas explosive device near a tunnel in Jabalia, in northern Gaza. Hours later, he died in the hospital. For years, Eisenkot had been responsible for visiting the families of soldiers killed in battle. Now, he was on the other side of it. He called one of his other sons to break the news but told him not to share it with the rest of the family. He wanted to be the one to tell Hanna, his wife, what had happened to their fifth and youngest child. Later on in the war, two of his nephews, Yogev Pazy and Maor Cohen Eisenkot, would also be killed on the battlefield. Eisenkot, and those closest to him, point to his son’s death as the moment he decided to run for prime minister. Indeed, nearly three years after that day, Eisenkot is now the most formidable political rival of his former boss, Benjamin Netanyahu—and perhaps the only candidate capable of beating him when Israelis head to the ballot box on Tuesday.

If Benjamin Netanyahu falls from power in Tuesday's election in Israel, the man considered most likely to replace him is Gadi Eisenkot, a retired lieutenant general and former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Gadi Eisenkot is as low-key as Benjamin Netanyahu is bombastic. He's a political novice up against the longest-serving, most politically savvy prime minister in Israel's history. And yet, on the eve of Tuesday's elections, Eisenkot poses the most serious threat to Netanyahu's hold on power in years. Why it matters: A victory by the Yashar party leader would upend Israeli politics and could reset the country's strained relationships abroad. The intrigue: The contrast between the two top contenders could hardly be sharper. Their roots: Eisenkot, the son of Moroccan Jewish immigrants, grew up in Eilat, Israel's southernmost city. If he wins, Eisenkot will be the first prime minister of Moroccan descent in Israel's history. Their military backgrounds: Netanyahu served in the Israel Defense Forces' elite special forces unit "Sayeret Matkal" and later went into business and politics. Eisenkot joined the IDF Golani infantry brigade and rose through its ranks as a combat commander until becoming IDF chief of staff. He arrived at his rally on Sunday to the tune of the Golani brigade song from 1974. Their ties to America: Netanyahu is better versed in American politics — and more articulate in English — than many American politicians. Eisenkot is not an "American" politician at all, let alone a professional one. He speaks English with a heavy Israeli accent and doesn't deliver catchy soundbites. He does not enjoy being on TV. At his final campaign rally Sunday before about 1,000 supporters, Eisenkot was visibly uncomfortable being in the spotlight, even when the crowd cheered him on. Their trustworthiness: Netanyahu's credibility with the Israeli public has been battered by his long-running corruption trial, his political tactics, his refusal to take responsibility for the failures that led to October 7 and accusations of duplicity in his handling of the Iran war. Eisenkot is seen as a straight shooter, even among many of his opponents. Zoom in: The failure to prevent the October 7 attacks spurred Eisenkot to challenge Netanyahu. Eisenkot, who joined Nƒetanyahu's emergency cabinet shortly after the attacks, lost his son during the war. He later lost two of his nephews in the war. Zoom out: Netanyahu has cultivated a vast network of donors, lobbyists and supporters in American power corridors for the past half-century. Bibi is a household name in America — for better and worse. Eisenkot, on the other hand, is almost anonymous in Washington. Very few people know him personally, even within Jewish organizations. He did spend time in America in the 1990s studying for a master's degree at the U.S. Army War College. Eisenkot's main connection to the U.S. was through the military, particularly his relationship with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford. After retiring from the IDF in 2019, Eisenkot spent a year as a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The numbers: Eisenkot is leading Netanyahu by 8 to 10 points in most pre-election polls. While Netanyahu is toxic among at least half of the voters, polls show Eisenkot enjoys high likability across the board. Netanyahu's efforts to publicly vilify him have been so far unsuccessful. The big picture: Eisenkot ran on a center-right platform. He did not make any sweeping foreign policy pronouncements and took pains to steer clear of any public positions that would allow Netanyahu to paint him as weak. Bibi tried to do it, anyway. Eisenkot has expressed opposition to a Palestinian state under current conditions. He has committed to taking strong steps to crack down on Jewish terrorism against Palestinians in the West Bank. He also pledged to end Hamas' control of Gaza within 18 months of taking office, either through diplomacy or military force. Eisenkot supported the war against Iran and strikes on its nuclear facilities. But he opposed Netanyahu's attempt to use military power to force regime change, calling it unrealistic. Eisenkot supports continuing economic pressure on Iran and building a regional alliance with the Arab world to curb Iranian influence. What to watch: Eisenkot has operated under the assumption that Netanyahu would be endorsed by President Trump. He tried to use his good relationship with GOP mega-donor Miriam Adelson to lobby Trump to stay on the sidelines. When Trump finally endorsed Netanyahu last week and again on Sunday, Eisenkot didn't criticize him, but rather praised the president's support for Israel. "I am convinced President Trump will work in full cooperation with any leader that will be elected by the Israeli people," Eisenkot wrote on X Monday.

Naftali Bennett's Middle East vision includes expanding the Abraham Accords, but polls show him trailing Gadi Eisenkot and Prime Minister Netanyahu ahead of Israel's election.

Israel votes for its new government tomorrow in an election which has been widely described as the most consequential in decades. Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting to retain his premiership, with retired general Gadi Eisenkot emerging as his main rival. But the election campaign has been consumed largely by Iran, national security, and the three-year war inside the country. Shira Efron, Distinguished Chair for Israel Policy and Senior Fellow at RAND & Ryan Bohl, Senior Middle East and North Africa Analyst at RANE spoke to Bloomberg’s Abeer Abu Omar on Horizons Middle East & Africa. (Source: Bloomberg)

For months, Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot has pitched himself as a modest alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, campaigning more on reliability than a markedly different approach to the country’s myriad security challenges.

Israel's closely contested national election Tuesday could leave the country without a clear governing majority for weeks or even months, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, facing a political deadlock.Such a...

Gadi Eisenkot Lost His Son in Gaza. Now He’s Running to Lead Israel Beyond the Trauma of Oct. 7

Humanitarian catastrophe largely ignored as rivals Gadi Eisenkot and Benjamin Netanyahu vow to end Hamas rule As Israel prepares to go to the polls , Palestinians in Gaza are bracing for an outcome that could shape their future, knowing their fate rests with the country that has reduced much of the territory to rubble and killed nearly 75,000 people. Gaza, where nearly a million displaced Palestinians face dire sanitary conditions, water shortages and the constant threat of Israeli strikes, has been largely absent from the election campaign . Continue reading...

The former chief of staff if the Israel Defense Forces Gadi Eisenkot who could supplant President Benjamin Netanuyahu is touting the "deep bonds" between Israel and the US at a time US support for Israel has been under severe strain.

The prime minister has defined and dominated his country’s politics for three decades and is putting his rivals on the defensive before Tuesday’s general election They chant his name, they cheer and clap – and yet he is not the most dominant person in the room. Looming over the crowd that has gathered to hear Gadi Eisenkot, the former general who is the lead opposition challenger in Tuesday’s Israeli election, is a man who is not there. It is the man Eisenkot seeks to replace as prime minister, the man who first served in that role three decades ago and who has held it, on and off, for 19 of the past 30 years. It is Benjamin Netanyahu. Naturally, the warm-up speakers at this evening rally in the modest city of Modi’in, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, stress the virtues of Eisenkot, a son of working-class Moroccan Jews who rose through the ranks to become chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and entered politics only four years ago. But every sentence might as well end with two words that go unspoken: unlike Bibi . Continue reading...

For the first time since the October 7 attacks, Israelis are headed to the polls. The race is seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is neck-and-neck with opponent Gadi Eisenkot in the latest polls. (Source: Bloomberg)

Mr. Eisenkot, an ex-military chief leading in the polls, calls the Israeli prime minister an “anti-leader.” But his low-key campaigning style is worrying supporters.