Eisenkot Targets "Golden Cities" in Bid to Sway Peripheral Voters
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, is targeting "40 Golden Cities" in Israel's periphery in the 2026 election campaign, aiming to attract voters traditionally loyal to the Likud. His campaign uses the slogan "Prime Minister Dialna" to appeal to Mizrahi voters, and polls suggest he is not alienating right-wing voters. The Likud's campaign focuses on Eisenkot potentially forming a government with Arab parties, while also making some attempts to mock his English and perceived intellectual capacity. Election day preparations by Eisenkot's campaign prioritize peripheral cities, while the Likud faces challenges in countering Eisenkot's appeal.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Gadi Eisenkot is targeting "40 Golden Cities" in Israel's periphery to gain votes from traditional Likud supporters.
- Eisenkot's campaign uses the slogan "Prime Minister Dialna" to appeal to Mizrahi voters.
- Polls suggest Eisenkot is not alienating right-wing voters and may reduce their urgency to vote for Netanyahu.
- The Likud's campaign warns against Eisenkot forming a government with Arab parties.
- Attempts were made to mock Eisenkot's English and intellectual capacity by Likud-affiliated figures.
- Eisenkot's campaign is deploying most resources to peripheral cities on election day.
As the 2026 election campaign gains momentum, Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Gadi Eisenkot is focusing on "40 Golden Cities" in Israel's periphery, aiming to capture votes traditionally leaning towards the Likud. These cities, including Eilat, Dimona, and Beersheba, are receiving significant campaign attention. Eisenkot, the sole Mizrahi candidate for prime minister, is employing a unique strategy, using the slogan "Prime Minister Dialna" (our prime minister in Moroccan Arabic) to connect with Mizrahi voters. Polls conducted by his campaign suggest that while Eisenkot may not win over Likud supporters, he doesn't alienate them and may even encourage them to stay home rather than vote for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Eisenkot is completing a tour of these 40 cities this week to engage undecided voters.
The campaign is also targeting religious Zionist voters with events like a large gathering in Givat Shmuel. Conversely, minimal resources are being allocated to traditionally liberal cities with high voter turnout for the "change bloc." Yisrael Beiteinu believes that low turnout in the periphery and high turnout in liberal cities could lead to a first-round victory, a challenging but possible scenario. Election day preparations involve deploying most activists and poll watchers to Likud-identified peripheral cities, with minimal focus on Tel Aviv, assuming favorable results there.
The Likud's campaign against Eisenkot is less aggressive than in past elections, avoiding personal attacks. Their primary message is that Eisenkot would form a government with Arab parties, summarized in campaign signs as "Right or Palestine." A senior Likud official noted that while many right-wing voters may not vote for Eisenkot, they see him as a decent individual, a Mizrahi man from the periphery and a bereaved father, making personal attacks risky. However, some attempts were made to mock Eisenkot's English proficiency and reading habits in videos by Netanyahu's advisor Yonatan Urikh and Likud candidate Yaakov Bardugo. An incident where Yinon Magal, host of Channel 14's "The Patriots," called Eisenkot a "monkey" and claimed he was a Mizrahi candidate managed by Ashkenazim, inadvertently boosted Eisenkot's ethnic-focused campaign.
A senior figure in the change bloc commented that the Likud is struggling to counter Eisenkot, a Mizrahi candidate they cannot easily disparage. The outcome in peripheral cities on election day will determine if a historic shift has occurred, not necessarily in vote transfers, but in the perception that a change bloc candidate does not incite fear within the right-wing camp, reducing the urgency to vote against him.
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