JERUSALEM â Israels high-stakes election on Oct. 27 pits the longest serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, against the highly decorated retired Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot. While fairly new to politics, Eisenkot has an impressive resume that could help him become the Jewish state’s next leader.
According to a number of polls, Eisenkot’s centrist political party, Yashar, has a narrow lead over Netanyahu’s Likud. To form a government, Yashar or Likud will need to cobble together a 61-seat majority of parties to be able to form a new coalition government.
He was born in Tiberias in Israels north to a Jewish-Moroccan family who relocated to Israels southernmost city, Eilat, on the Red Sea when he was a toddler.
A career soldier, he opted to serve in the infantry. He was part of the elite Golani Brigade and reached the zenith of the military with his 2015 appointment to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff in 2015 until 2019.
Yossi Melman, one of Israels most respected journalists on intelligence and defense reporting, told Fox News Digital that Eisenkot, “Is 100% a soldier. He is very brave and humble. He is an officer and gentleman.”
Melman noted that when Eisenkot was chosen to be the next IDF chief of staff, he declined because he felt that then should receive the appointment. Melman asked, “How many people would do that? He was selected after Gantz. It shows his traits of modesty, honesty and not arrogant.”
Melman said, “It is a miracle he is leading in the polls. He is the antithesis of a what a politician should be. He is not a great orator when you compare him to Netanyahu. He radiates honesty.”
Eisenkots Mizrahi background â Jews who originate from North Africa and the Middle East â would mean, if he prevails, that he would be the first Israeli Prime Minister of Moroccan origin. The Prime Ministers office has been held by Israelis of Eastern European descent (Ashkenazi) since the rebirth of in 1948.
After Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and slaughtered over 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans, Eisenkot joined Netanyahus war cabinet as a minister without portfolio.
Melman said Eisenkot “did not set any political conditions” and “his presence in the cabinet saved Netanyahu.” After eight months of serving in the war cabinet, Eisenkot resigned, blaming the prime minister for failing to implement a comprehensive strategy.
The war against the Iran-backed terrorist movement took an enormous toll on the battle-hardened General Eisenkot and his family. Hamas killed his son, 25-year-old Master Sergeant Gal Eisenkot, in Dec. 2023. The terrorist organization also killed two nephews of Eisenkot. Netanyahu and his wife Sara said at the time that they were devastated by Gals death and Eisenkot was a “true hero.”
Danny Orbach, a military historian from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, gave his take on the leading contender to replace Netanyahu. “I think his military record and his prospects as a national leader have both significant strengths and serious weaknesses. He bears considerable responsibility for shaping the IDF that existed on Oct. 7, 2023. And that was, paradoxically, both the army that proved capable of defeating Hezbollah, striking Iran and achieving unprecedented military successes in the extraordinarily difficult, tunnel-ridden battlefield of and the army that failed so miserably on Oct. 7.”
He continued that, “Like other chiefs of staff, Eisenkot bears responsibility for the decisions that reduced the army’s siz
