Netanyahu Allies Attack Eisenkot Amid Media Avoidance

Elements within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the Likud party have launched a campaign against Gadi Eisenkot, the head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party. They accuse Eisenkot of avoiding the media and following his campaign team's directives, despite his recent call for a televised debate with Netanyahu. This criticism comes as Netanyahu himself has significantly reduced his appearances in Israeli media interviews over the past three years, favoring interviews with supportive program hosts and podcasters, according to Haaretz. The attacks on Eisenkot intensified after he challenged Netanyahu to a debate. Transportation Minister Miri Regev reposted a past criticism by Eisenkot of the government's performance following an incident involving a Flydubai flight, accusing him of "dismantling the army" and telling him to "hide deep" as his campaign team advised. Channel 14 host Yanon Magal echoed this sentiment on X, asking, "Has anyone seen Eisenkot? He has disappeared," even though Eisenkot gave a media interview and participated in field tours the following day. Likud Knesset Member Boaz Bismuth joined the criticism, telling Eisenkot, "Gadi, first let them allow you to answer the phone alone. Then you can start handing out invitations to debates." Netanyahu's advisor, Jonathan Urich, published an AI-generated video depicting Eisenkot as a puppet controlled by his advisor Ronen Manelis. Channel 14 also reported a "sharp dispute over campaign management," claiming Manelis is isolating party members and controlling the campaign. Haaretz reported that the counter-campaign aims to portray Eisenkot as a weak candidate shielded from media confrontations by his advisors, even as Netanyahu has avoided difficult media interviews and debates in recent years. Assaf Shapira, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, told Haaretz that televised debates remain important in democracies for candidates to present their positions and political issues to the public.