A new Israeli election poll published Thursday shows former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! party climbing to a record 26 Knesset seats, while Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition parties have fallen to a combined 49 seats, less than two weeks before Israelis head to the polls.

The survey, conducted October 14–15 by Tatika Research and Media in cooperation with the Adgenda polling panel for Zman Yisrael, indicates significant movement among parties opposed to Netanyahu, although much of Eisenkot’s gains appear to be coming at the expense of other parties in the same political camp.

Eisenkot’s Yashar! party gained two seats compared with the previous week’s poll, reaching 26 mandates. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad party dropped to 11 seats, while Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu fell to nine. The Democrats remained unchanged at eight seats.

On the Netanyahu side, Likud received 20 seats, Shas eight, United Torah Judaism eight, Otzma Yehudit seven, and Religious Zionism six, bringing the bloc to 49 mandates.

One significant factor was the failure of former IDF Brigadier General Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party to cross the electoral threshold. Winter’s party received just 2.8% of the vote, leaving it without Knesset representation in the survey.

Meanwhile, the Reservists–Economic party, headed by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, crossed the electoral threshold with four seats.

The Arab parties received a combined 13 seats, with the Joint List winning eight and Ra’am five.

According to the poll’s bloc calculations, parties opposed to Netanyahu, including the Reservists and Ra’am, received 67 seats, compared with 49 for the Netanyahu-aligned parties. The narrower change bloc was credited with 54 seats.

The survey included 500 Jewish and Arab respondents and had a reported maximum sampling error of 4.4 percentage points.

EISENKOT PROMISES TO END HAMAS RULE IN GAZA

Against the backdrop of his party’s rising poll numbers, Eisenkot delivered a security statement Thursday near the Gaza border, pledging to end Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip within 18 months of taking office.

“I pledge: Within 18 months of entering the Prime Minister’s Office, Hamas will no longer rule the Gaza Strip. We will bring about the destruction of Hamas’s military wing,” Eisenkot declared.

He said the objective would be achieved either through implementation of President Donald Trump’s framework, which was accepted by the Netanyahu government, or through military and operational measures.

Eisenkot sharply criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the war.

“As long as Benjamin Netanyahu remains in power, Hamas will remain in power,” he charged. “The man who hangs signs saying ‘We Will Not Surrender’ is the first to surrender: to draft evaders, to his coalition partners, and to Hamas.”

The former IDF chief added that no Israeli government had ever received so much public and international freedom of action while experiencing what he described as such a profound strategic failure.

“Three years after the October 7 massacre, Hamas remains the sovereign in the Gaza Strip, armed, rearming, and rebuilding its military capabilities,” Eisenkot said.

Likud responded with a brief statement questioning how Eisenkot could carry out his promises without the approval of Arab political leaders Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi.

HAGAON HARAV DOV LANDAU: EVERY VOTE IS CRITICAL

As Election Day approaches, Gedolei Yisroel are issuing urgent calls for the Chareidi community to participate in the election.

HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, instructed shochtim employed by kashrus organizations not to travel abroad for shechitah assignments if doing so would prevent them from returning to Eretz Yisroel in time to vote.

The question was presented to the Rosh Yeshiva by HaRav Rafael Menat, Rav of the Osem-Nestlé corporation and a close confidant of HaRav Landau.

Some shochtim were scheduled to travel to distant countries, including South American destinations, and would be unable to return before the election. Remaining in Israel would mean sacrificing significant income.

HaRav Landau was unequivocal.

“Elections are a greater communal necessity. Every vote, every single vote, is extremely, extremely important for Klal Yisroel,” he said.

HAGAON HARAV MOSHE HILLEL HIRSCH WARNS OF THREATS TO CHAREIDI EDUCATION

HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, also addressed the upcoming election during a meeting with rabbonim from Rechasim, warning that the challenges facing the Chareidi community extend far beyond the military draft.

The Rosh Yeshiva described increasing government pressure on Chinuch Atzmai schools, chedarim, seminaries, and other Chareidi educational institutions.

He said measures that had not been enforced in previous years were now being used to create difficulties for Chareidi institutions across numerous areas.

HaRav Hirsch attributed the pressure to concerns among secular policymakers about demographic changes that could eventually make the Chareidi population a much larger share of Israel’s population.

He urged every eligible Chareidi voter to cast a ballot for a Chareidi party, describing electoral participation as an essential means of protecting Torah institutions and the community’s future.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)