Israel Election Fight: Lapid, Golan Clash With Eisenkot Over 'Big Party' Strategy
Translated & summarized from Kikar HaShabbat by baba
Gadi Eisenkot's 'Yashar!' party is campaigning for voters to make it the "big party" to lead change in Israel's upcoming election. Rivals Yair Lapid and Yair Golan accuse Eisenkot of spreading a "dangerous lie" about election mechanics. They argue that votes for parties below the threshold are lost, not transferred, and that Eisenkot's strategy weakens the bloc. The dispute occurs amid closely contested polls where every seat is crucial.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Gadi Eisenkot's party urges voters to make it the "big party" to lead change.
- Yair Lapid and Yair Golan call Eisenkot's strategy a "dangerous lie."
- Lapid explains votes for parties below the threshold are discarded, not transferred.
- Golan warns the "big party" campaign weakens the opposition bloc.
- The internal fight occurs as polls show a tight race between blocs.
With the Israeli election just a day away, a fierce internal dispute has erupted within the "change bloc" over campaign strategy. Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the 'Yashar!' party, is promoting the idea that only his party becoming the "big party" can lead to change and replace Prime Minister Netanyahu. He urged voters to cast their ballots for 'Derech' on October 27th.
However, his rivals within the bloc, Yair Lapid of 'Yesh Atid' and Yair Golan of 'HaDemocratim,' have strongly criticized Eisenkot's message, calling it a "dangerous lie." Lapid refuted the claim that votes for smaller parties automatically transfer to the largest party, explaining that votes for parties failing to pass the electoral threshold are simply discarded. He cited the 2022 election where Meretz narrowly missed the threshold, arguing that if they had passed, the bloc would have had a stronger position, not that their votes would have gone to the largest party.
Golan echoed Lapid's concerns, labeling Eisenkot's campaign a "dangerous lie" intended to weaken the bloc. He warned that a bloc without strong Democratic representation is vulnerable. Golan recalled that Lapid himself led a similar "big party" campaign in the previous election, which he believes contributed to their loss. He appealed to Eisenkot to work together rather than against each other.
Lapid also debunked the notion that the largest party is almost always tasked with forming a government, providing examples from 2009, 2019, and 2021 where the party with the most seats did not necessarily form the government. The internal conflict comes as polls indicate a tight race between the two major blocs, with every seat potentially decisive.
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