Lieberman Urges Opposition Unity After Internal Clash

Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, has shifted his rhetoric, calling on opposition allies to focus on voter turnout and consolidate their votes after a sharp attack on Gadi Eisenkot. Previously, Lieberman accused Eisenkot of trying to poach votes within the opposition bloc and pave the way for a future government with Benjamin Netanyahu. Now, Lieberman urges allies to concentrate on shared electoral goals.

In a statement on social media platform X on Saturday, October 17, Lieberman called on opposition partners to adhere to two main messages: achieving a voter turnout exceeding 76% and voting for only one of the bloc's four parties, avoiding smaller political forces he described as existing solely due to "election hype."

This statement followed Lieberman's strong criticism of Eisenkot the previous day. Lieberman had compared Eisenkot to Benny Gantz, chairman of the National Unity party, and accused him of preparing the ground for a government with Netanyahu, Yitzhak Goldknopf of Agudat Yisrael, and Aryeh Deri of Shas. Lieberman suggested Eisenkot might be considering a minority government to pressure Netanyahu for the prime minister rotation spot, stating, "Unfortunately, I see here much more personal ambition than a sincere desire to correct the injustice done by the government of draft dodgers." He believes a decisive majority for the four opposition parties is the only way to form a "Zionist and liberal government" and prevent Eisenkot from "saving Netanyahu a second time."

Eisenkot responded by urging supporters of change to ignore "information dumps" and focus on a "great victory for the State of Israel." He emphasized his work to attract voters tired of government "lies, societal division, and evasion of military service," believing these votes would secure over 61 seats for change-supporting forces. Benny Gantz also criticized Lieberman, stating that over 30 years in Israeli politics, Lieberman had achieved far less for the country than he and Eisenkot had. Gantz suggested Lieberman was under pressure since Gantz revealed his alleged plan to form a minority government with Naftali Bennett and Arab parties.

Internal disputes within Lieberman's party preceded these public exchanges. Oded Forer, chairman of the Yisrael Beiteinu faction, criticized Eisenkot and Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party, expressing concern over their potential future cooperation with the Arab Ra'am party or Agudat Yisrael. Forer claimed that Eisenkot and Golan's representatives opposed a joint opposition statement committing to a coalition solely with Zionist parties, instead proposing a "coalition of service members." Forer questioned if this indicated a deal with Ra'am, whose leader Mansour Abbas supports civil service for Arab citizens, and asked if partners were setting a "trap."

Another point of contention is Eisenkot's campaign to make his party the largest in the opposition bloc. Forer argued this strategy violates prior agreements and aggressively draws votes from allies, not from Netanyahu's bloc. He warned that if Eisenkot declared "war," Yisrael Beiteinu would respond in kind.