Gadi Eisenkot

Yehezkeli, 48, is a Jerusalem resident and mother of two who has held a range of roles in government ministries and in social organizations.

Yashar! Party Chairman Gadi Eisenkot pledges to place a Druze candidate in a "realistic" spot on the party's Knesset election list, following a tour of Druze towns.

Gantz also released a campaign video calling for a bloc representing “all of Israel,” and argued that Bennett and Lapid were focused on internal leadership battles.

Economist Shaul Meridor, former director-general at Israel’s Energy Ministry and head of the Budget Division, joined Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! Party, pledging to help lead a deep reform in Israel.

Eisenkot said he reached out on Monday to the parties he described as the “Hope Bloc” follwing the political merger of former prime ministers Bennett and Lapid.

The poll marks a shift after four consecutive surveys in which the opposition bloc held 61 seats without relying on Arab parties. It now falls to 59 seats, while the coalition rises from 49 to 51.

Talks between the two were long, intense, and crowded, taking place over several weeks. Those who spoke with them during this period heard many mutual compliments, although without understanding.

Members of the Netanyahu-led coalition and the opposition reacted to Bennett and Lapid's announcement that the two will form a joint list for the 2026 Knesset elections.

The position has been vacant for nearly nine years, since former chief rabbi Israel Meir Lau left office in 2017, but the race is not only about filling an empty seat. 

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett told The Jerusalem Post that while Israel remembers those who were lost, it also embraces the families who sacrificed “what was most precious to them."