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Eisenkot Tops Poll, Yashar! Projected 23 Seats

8/9/2026

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Summary

Story summary

IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot leads the July poll for the Oct. 27 election, with his Yashar! party projected at 23 seats, one ahead of Likud’s 22.
Eisenkot, who founded Yashar! and lost his son, is preferred as prime minister by 46 % of voters versus 36 % for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a JPPI poll.
Analysts view vote as a referendum on Netanyahu’s Oct. 7 response, corruption trial and judicial-reform controversy.

History

Historical Context

On 17 May 1977 Israel held its ninth Knesset election, and Menachem Begin’s Likud captured 43 seats, ending Labor’s nearly 30-year rule—a shift dubbed the Mahapach. The upset created a two-decade balance between left and right blocs and showed how newcomers with military ties could topple entrenched parties. Today Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! party echoes that pattern, polling at Likud’s level and challenging Netanyahu.

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Story summary

IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot leads the July poll for the Oct. 27 election, with his Yashar! party projected at 23 seats, one ahead of Likud’s 22.
Eisenkot, who founded Yashar! and lost his son, is preferred as prime minister by 46 % of voters versus 36 % for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a JPPI poll.
Analysts view vote as a referendum on Netanyahu’s Oct. 7 response, corruption trial and judicial-reform controversy.

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