Independent voter guide · English

Israel votes 27 October 2026.The case for Gadi Eisenkot

Sixty seconds, in English, on why the former IDF chief of staff is leading the polls — and what you need in your pocket on election day. Written for English-speaking Israeli citizens who are eligible to vote.

—
until polls openTuesday 27 Oct · 07:00–22:00

Yashar! ישר — Hebrew for straight, upright, honest. Founded September 2025.

The recordWho he is

1960
Born in Tiberias to Moroccan immigrant parents; raised in Eilat.
1978–98
Golani Brigade — rifleman to brigade commander.
2015–19
21st Chief of the General Staff of the IDF.
2022
Enters the Knesset with National Unity.
Oct 2023
Sworn into the emergency war cabinet, 5 days after 7 October.
Dec 2023
His son Gal, 25, is killed fighting in Gaza.
Jun 2024
Walks out of the war cabinet over the absence of a plan.
Sep 2025
Founds Yashar! and runs for prime minister.

The caseSix reasons to give him your slip

He is the alternative with a plan.

Most of Yashar's ten-point platform is about what comes next: rebuilding state education, bringing the cost of living down, stopping the brain drain and bringing people home, a million new olim in ten years. Plenty of parties can tell you what is wrong. This one has written down what it will do on the first morning.

On security, he has a proven track record.

Four years commanding the IDF. Then a war cabinet seat he walked away from in June 2024, because Israel was fighting without a strategy or a plan for the day after.

He has lost family in this war.

His youngest son, Gal, was killed in Gaza in December 2023. His nephew died the following day. He knows what he is asking of other families, because it has already been asked of his.

Shared burden, with a number attached.

National service for every community, with a narrow exemption for a few thousand full-time yeshiva scholars — around 3% — instead of the blanket exemption in place now. Most politicians avoid giving a number. He has given one, so he can be held to it. This coalition stays in power by protecting that exemption.

A bench built to govern.

Yoram Cohen, head of the Shin Bet 2011–16. Shaul Meridor, the Finance Ministry's former budget chief. Orit Farkash-Hacohen. Wix president Nir Zohar. Adi Altschuler, Israel Prize laureate. Around half of the 40 names are women. People who have run big organisations before, picked for that and not for loyalty.

It is genuinely close, which is the point.

September polls put Yashar at 22–25 seats and Likud at 19–27. The two blocs sit within two or three seats of each other, with several polls dead level. Nothing here is decided. Turnout decides it.

Election dayWhat you need on election day

Tuesday 27 October 2026, 07:00–22:00A paid national holiday for most employees — it does not come out of your leave.
Bring photo IDTeudat zehut, Israeli passport, or Israeli driving licence. No ID, no vote — check yours hasn't expired this week, not on the day.
You must vote in person, in IsraelThere is no postal or embassy voting for ordinary citizens. If you are abroad on the 27th, you do not vote.
Only at your assigned stationSet by your registered address. Your voting card arrives by post; if it doesn't, check with the Interior Ministry on 1-800-101-975 or WhatsApp +972-53-380-1464.
Registration has closedThe voter register shut on 3 September 2026. If you completed aliyah after that, this one isn't yours — the next one is.
In the boothTake one clean slip from the Yashar pile, nothing written on either side, seal it in the envelope. Marks or two slips void your ballot. Confirm the party's ballot letters on the official site before you go.

This is what you're looking for. Every slip is plain white, the same size, with the party's letters printed large at the top and its name underneath. The piles sit in rows in the booth — you're scanning for the letters, not the name.

The letters aren't final yet. The Elections Committee hadn't published them when this page was written, so the box above is empty. Check yasharwitheisenkot.com before you go — three or four Hebrew letters, and they'll be printed on the slip exactly where the box is.

If the Yashar slips have run out, tell the clerk and wait for more. Never use the blank white slip — a handwritten one is far easier to disqualify.