Retired IDF brigadier general Ofer Winter says he will not join any existing party in the coming election, and if he runs, he will do so on an independent list. The report was published Monday evening by News 14, which said Winter sees himself as able to draw many voters from the center-left to the right.
In exclusive recordings from a house meeting held two days earlier, Winter sharply attacked former IDF chief of staff and Yisrael party chairman Gadi Eisenkot. Winter claimed Eisenkot worked to end his military career, saying, "Gadi Eisenkot did everything he could so that I would finish my service in the IDF." He added, "I hear now that Gadi will bring the victory and Gadi will bring everything, but that is the concept. That is the concept, that is the mindset."
Winter expanded the criticism to what he called the same old security approach, citing "restraint" and "containment," and said people should look at the circle around Eisenkot. He named Yair Golan, Aharon Haliva, and Herzi Halevi as senior figures who served under him, arguing that their shared background reflects Eisenkot's worldview.
Winter also addressed the draft exemption debate and the ultra-Orthodox parties, specifically Aryeh Deri's allies Yaakov Litzman and Moshe Gafni. He said he supports Torah study and the ultra-Orthodox public, but argued it is false to say that "everyone" is a Torah scholar. In his view, that claim harms Torah study itself by fueling public backlash against the ultra-Orthodox, and he said the situation "must change."
