Eizenkot on sitting with the ultra-Orthodox: 'I will sit with anyone who accepts three principles, a Jewish and democratic Israel'
As he emerges as the leading force against Netanyahu’s coalition, Eizenkot arrived for an interview on “120 VeEchat,” ynet’s political podcast hosted by Moran Azulay, which each week hosts decision-makers for a conversation. Eizenkot spoke about what he sees as the strategic and security failure toward which the State of Israel has been heading, and about the targeted attacks against him from the Prime Minister’s Office.
If you were prime minister on the day missiles are launched from Iran, what happens?: “I would carry out what I proposed to Netanyahu in April 2024, during the first Iranian attack. I proposed a parallel strike, while the missiles were flying toward here. He stopped it and in the end took someone else’s opinion. This is the strike the minister for national security called a ‘dradaleh.’ That was the only time I could justify him in recent years.” Regarding sitting with the ultra-Orthodox, he said: “It is right to talk about what yes, and not about what no, because otherwise you get to a situation where some candidates say, ‘We will not sit with the ultra-Orthodox,’ ‘we will not sit with Arabs,’ ‘we will not sit with Ben Gvir,’ ‘we will not sit with Smotrich,’ and ‘we will not sit with Likud under Netanyahu.’ They apparently intend to form a coalition with the Blochists or the Freemasons. In the end, that is Israeli politics.”
Regarding joining forces with Liberman or with Lapid and Bennett, he said: “I worked to build a super-party with two parties alongside it, Liberman on one side and Golan on the other. When that did not succeed, I moved to Plan B, in which four parties will run. As for who leads the bloc, it is very desirable that the candidate for prime minister enjoy the broadest possible support. Certainly not someone who heads a party with six or eight seats. In my view, that is not democratic. It is not proper and not desirable. That was an experiment, and it is not desirable to repeat it.” Eizenkot was asked whether Bennett could again demand the premiership even when he is not the largest: “The Israeli public delegitimized the previous event, even though the change government under Bennett was a reasonable government, a good one. It would be preferable for that not to happen. Certainly in light of the reality of recent years. It is preferable that there be a party with a majority and that there should be a coalition as broad as possible.”
Eizenkot was asked whether he is right-wing, left-wing, or center-left. “I am a man of the State of Israel who very much believes in the idea of stateliness. I see myself as a security hawk. I suggest people go back to my farewell as IDF chief of staff, when Netanyahu enumerated my achievements, ours of course, and praised me for the use of force throughout the Middle East. Today he sends his envoys to slander me for the very things he praised me for then.”
On the enlistment law, he said: “On October 7, something happened, and a law must be passed based on four principles: 1. Enlistment for everyone, ultra-Orthodox and Arabs, military or national service. 2. The arrangement between Likud and Agudat Yisrael is null and void, and in its place there is a return to a directorate that determines who receives an exemption. 3. The State of Israel dramatically rewards regular and reserve service members, and punishes and takes sanctions against draft dodgers. 4. The State of Israel allows an exemption for 3% of the annual cohort. Ben-Gurion did this during the War of Independence, it can be done now.” Eizenkot was asked what his relations are with Odeh and Tibi: “I have no political relations with them. I tend to speak to the substance, not to the person. Therefore, when I am asked about the Arab parties, I answer the same way as לגבי the ultra-Orthodox parties: I will sit with anyone who accepts three principles, a Jewish and democratic Israel, the values of the Declaration of Independence, and the duty of military and national service.”
