Poll shows Eisenkot, Netanyahu neck-and-neck as public’s preferred option for PM

Survey shows new center-right alliance between Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper would win four seats, but anti-Netanyahu bloc still falls short of 61 seats without Arab parties

A new television poll on Monday showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu neck and neck with his foremost challenger, former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, when it comes to Israelis’ preferred choice to lead the country.

The poll published by Channel 12 showed that 38 percent of the public would prefer to see Netanyahu continue leading the country, but equally, 38 percent would want to see Eisenkot take over from him.

The findings were a departure from a poll conducted by the television channel earlier in the month, which found that 43% of voters preferred Eisenkot as prime minister, compared to 34% for Netanyahu.

Israel does not hold a direct vote for prime minister, and the Channel 12 news survey ahead of the October 27 Knesset election showed the pro- and anti-Netanyahu blocs in about the same position they have been in for months. It predicted the anti-Netanyahu bloc, excluding Israel’s Arab parties, would win 60 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, just short of a 61-seat majority, while the pro-Netanyahu bloc would win 50. Arab parties, which have largely stayed out of Israel’s coalition governments, would win the remaining 10 seats.

Eisenkot’s Yashar would be the largest party in the Knesset with 23 seats, according to the Channel 12 poll, and Netanyahu’s Likud would follow close behind with 22. Bennett’s center-right opposition party Together would win 16.

The left-wing Democrats would win 10 seats, while the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu, also anti-Netanyahu, would win nine. The Haredi Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, as well as the far-right Otzma Yehudit, all pro-Netanyahu, would win eight each, according to the poll. The two Arab parties, Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am, would also each win five seats.

At the bottom of the pack, both the far-right Religious Zionism party and the new center-right electoral alliance between former ministers Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper would win four seats each — the minimum required to enter the Knesset.

Asked about the policies influencing their voting choices, 32% of respondents said the management of Israel’s multi-front war had impacted their decision on who to vote for, while 25% cited the cost of living and the economy. Another 15% of people said they were prioritizing the issue of societal divisions, and 12% cited the management of crime and internal security. Finally, 12% of respondents told Channel 12 that they were voting for parties based on who was leading them.

The survey for the network was conducted by pollster Manu Geva’s Midgam firm and included 509 participants, with a 4.4% margin of error.