In the final stretch leading up to Tuesday’s (10/27) parliamentary elections, , with Donald Trump once again coming out in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling on Israelis to back him at the polls. At the same time, his main rival, Gadi Eizenkot, promises to restore unity to a deeply divided society, while Netanyahu is ramping up the rhetoric, highlighting the threat from Iran and accusing the opposition of underestimating the risks to the country’s security.
The U.S. president’s latest intervention came on Sunday (October 25), while the election remains too close to call, with Netanyahu and the former chief of the Israeli General Staff vying for the lead.
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Through the Truth Social platform, Trump directly called on Israelis to vote for Netanyahu, citing the war launched jointly by the United States and Israel against Iran as proof of their effective cooperation.
“When you go to vote, please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding warrior-prime minister,” wrote the U.S. president, using Netanyahu’s well-known nickname.
Trump referred to their collaboration during military operations against Tehran and called on Israelis to re-elect the prime minister so that, as he argued, to complete the mission they had begun together.
Eizenkot promises to unite the country: “Israel needs change”
In his final major campaign speech in Tel Aviv, before hundreds of his supporters, Gadi Eizenkot chose to emphasize the need to overcome deep political and social divisions.
The former Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, whose party is running against Netanyahu’s Likud, presented national unity as a top priority for the next government.
“Our goal is not for one side to defeat the other. That’s not how we operate,” he emphasized.
“We will work to reunite all Israelis—those who will vote for us and those who will not,” he added, in an effort to reach beyond the narrow confines of his electoral base.
Eisenkot even turned directly to Likud voters, urging them to reflect on the situation Israel finds itself in today.
“Deep down, you know too that Israel cannot continue this way,” he said, adding that “Israel needs change.”
Emphasizing security and the economy, he pledged to follow a different model of governance than that of Netanyahu, who has dominated the Israeli political scene for nearly three decades.
“I will look each of you in the eye and tell you the truth. I will take responsibility for the successes and the failures, because that is how you truly lead,” he said.
The October 7 attack and the commitment to an independent investigation
One of the central points of Eisenkot’s campaign platform is assigning responsibility for the security lapses that allowed the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
The former chief of the Israeli military holds Netanyahu politically responsible for the failures that preceded the attack and has pledged that, should he take office, he will establish an independent commission of inquiry to examine the circumstances and failures that led to the events of that day.
His message resonates with voters who say they are disillusioned with the political system and are seeking a different kind of leadership.
“I feel like he’s a rock for us, someone I can trust,” Yael Skenti, a 66-year-old jewelry designer, told Agence France-Presse.
“Amid all this chaos, what matters to me is this feeling that we have someone who is capable, in one way or another, of uniting everyone—a bit like a father figure,” she added.
Sen Sharon, a reservist who works at a technology company, expressed a similar view.
“We need someone whose values we can truly believe in,” she said.
Netanyahu Warns of “Catastrophe” and Revives the Iranian Threat
In contrast to the message of national reconciliation, Benjamin Netanyahu is opting for a campaign strategy focused on security and countering external threats.
In an interview with Channel 14, which is aligned with his government, he accused his political opponents of seeking to create a Palestinian state, arguing that such a development “would be a disaster for Israel.”
Throughout his campaign, the outgoing prime minister has presented himself as the only politician who can guarantee the country’s security.
A hallmark of his strategy is the slogan “Either the Right or Palestine,” which appeared on campaign posters featuring his image.
At the same time, Netanyahu constantly highlights the threat from Iran, citing the results of the joint military operations launched in February by the U.S. and Israel against the Islamic Republic.
He maintains that these operations achieved most of their objectives, but that his policy must continue in order to complete them.
“We’ve completed 90% of the work; 10% remains. Who will take it on? Eizenkot and the Muslim Brotherhood? No. Only I can do it,” he said.
With this remark, he sought to link his political opponents to forces he portrays as a threat to national security.
Uproar Over AI-Generated Image of a Nuclear Explosion
A new front in the political battle opened on Sunday with a post by Netanyahu, in which he used an image generated by artificial intelligence depicting a massive nuclear mushroom cloud over an urban center resembling Tel Aviv.
The image accompanied a text in which the Israeli prime minister once again portrayed Iran as an existential threat, arguing that dealing with it is a matter of greater importance than any other election issue.
The post drew a response from Gadi Eizenkot, who accused Netanyahu of exploiting the Iranian threat for electoral purposes.
Eizenkot, who also opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, but has committed to addressing the violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, directly questioned the effectiveness of the prime minister’s strategy.
“Once again, you have spectacularly and blatantly failed to achieve the war objectives you yourself set,” he said, addressing Netanyahu.
The reaction from Yair Lapid, one of the leading figures in the opposition, was also fierce; he has stated that he intends to cooperate with Eisenkot.
Commenting on the image of the alleged nuclear explosion, Lapid said, “The man has lost his mind. We need to send him home.”
“Tones Must Be Toned Down” – Deep Polarization Ahead of the Polls
The intensity of the pre-election debate reflects the depth of the divisions characterizing Israeli society, with issues of security, political accountability, and national identity taking center stage.
It is precisely this climate of polarization that Gidi Grinstein, 55, who works at a research institute in New York and traveled to Israel specifically to participate in the elections.
“The key message that needs to be sent is that the tone of public discourse must be toned down. We have far too many internal divisions,” he said.
With the polls opening on Tuesday, the election is shaping up to be a political test for Benjamin Netanyahu, who is vying to remain in power with the public support of Donald Trump.
On the other hand, Gadi Eizenkot is attempting to rally those who want a change in government, emphasizing the need to restore trust in institutions and overcome internal divisions.
Source: Proto Thema
