Free Republic

The Central Elections Committee announced that the counting of "double envelope" votes has been completed. In the elections for the 26th Knesset, a total of 5,564,764 valid votes and 25,072 invalid votes were received. The Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to lead and has risen to 27 seats, followed by Yashar, led by Gadi Eisenkot, with 21 seats. Together, led by Naftali Bennett, has 12 seats, while the Joint List has 11 seats. The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, and Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, each have eight seats. Yisrael Beytenu, Otzma Yehudit, United Torah Judaism and each have...

A dramatic development in the exit polls for Israel's 26th Knesset elections: Channel 14 released an updated projection early Wednesday morning showing that Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party had fallen below the electoral threshold. As a result, Netanyahu's bloc rose to 62 seats, giving it the parliamentary majority needed to form a government, according to the updated poll. The revision marked a significant change from Channel 14's initial projection, which had given Yisrael Beytenu four seats and Netanyahu's bloc just 60. The update highlighted the substantial differences among the six exit polls released when voting ended. While Channel 14 now...

The "Change Bloc" responds to exit poll results: "The public has had its say." According to most exit polls, the "Change Bloc" has secured a majority among the public—and its leaders were quick to respond. Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the "Yashar!" party—the largest in the bloc—stated: "If these are the final results, it is a victory for the mainstream Zionist majority in Israel; I will act immediately to carry out the will of the people." Lapid added: "Don't let anyone confuse you: the Netanyahu bloc has suffered a crushing defeat." Yair Golan wrote on X: "Now it is our turn...

Former IDF chief says ridicule over his English reflects prejudice against Mizrahi Israelis, asking where Netanyahu’s 'excellent English' was on Oct. 7. Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s circle of racism after a senior Netanyahu adviser shared a post mocking Eisenkot’s English, saying the attack reflected panic among the prime minister’s allies... “It is racist, and I despise them,” the former IDF chief said in an interview with “120 and One,” ynet’s Hebrew-language political podcast... Eisenkot, who is expected to challenge Netanyahu in the upcoming general election, said he had attended dozens of English-language meetings with...

Amid the fast-paced daily changes in the political sphere, one trend has remained consistent: the steady rise in support for Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot across recent polls. This trend of Eisenkot rising in the polls, and now coming close behind Bennett and Lapid, who trail Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, could soon make him the leader of the largest party in the opposition bloc... Leading a centrist party aiming to oust Netanyahu, Eisenkot presents himself as a unique candidate in the first election since the October 7 Hamas attacks. He appears to have a more reserved personality,...