Yair Golan Worries Gadi Eisenkot Will Pursue Solo Campaign

Yair Golan, chairman of the Democratic Party, has expressed concern in internal discussions about the possibility of Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, running a "big party campaign." This fear stems from the potential for such a campaign to draw votes away from the Democratic Party and harm the broader "change bloc" of opposition parties. According to sources privy to these conversations, Golan stated, "I am concerned about the possibility that Eisenkot will run the big party campaign, I hope he will not do it. If he does it, it will be a mistake."

Golan's remarks come in the wake of the "change bloc's" negative experience in the previous election, where Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, conducted a large-scale campaign that reportedly siphoned votes from smaller parties like Meretz, which ultimately failed to pass the electoral threshold. Golan himself was part of the Meretz list in that election.

The concern is not limited to Golan; other parties within the change bloc also worry that Eisenkot might aim to increase his party's standing, potentially widening the gap with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Conversely, Eisenkot is reportedly concerned that Naftali Bennett of the Yamina party and Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu are not fully acknowledging his leadership, despite his party being the largest within the change bloc according to polls. Eisenkot believes this undermines their chances of winning.

These internal disputes have become public. Eisenkot recently stated in an interview that he has worked tirelessly to organize the bloc, which he believes is now better organized than in the previous election. He criticized the reluctance of other parties to establish fundamental rules and principles for selecting a prime ministerial candidate, arguing it harms their chances of victory. Lieberman, however, criticized Eisenkot's strategy, suggesting it prioritizes strengthening his own party, even at the expense of the bloc. Eisenkot and Lieberman met this week to resolve their differences. The leaders of the change bloc are scheduled to convene at Lapid's home in Tel Aviv this coming Saturday evening to coordinate their messaging and prevent further internal conflicts.